Turkey’s
"Gay Poster Boy" Possible Victim of Honor Killing

Ahmet Yildiz, 26, was shot and killed last week in Turkey. The Independent, an online U.K. news source, reported Saturday that friends of the deceased believe he was a victim of Turkey's first gay "honor killing," or the murder of someone resisting conservative social mores.

"He fell victim to a war between old mentalities and growing civil liberties," Yildiz's friend Sedef Cakmak told the Independent. "I feel helpless. We are trying to raise awareness of gay rights in this country, but the more visible we become, the more we open ourselves up to this sort of attack."

Yildiz, who had represented Turkey at an LGBT event in San Francisco last year and was known as "Turkey's Gay Poster Boy," may have been targeted after coming out as gay earlier this year. According to the Independent, Yildiz reported to a prosecutor that he was receiving death threats five months before the fatal attack, but no action was taken.

Police are currently investigating the murder. (The Advocate)