(Istanbul, Turkey) Human rights groups say a Turkish transwoman would be alive today if police had taken seriously her pleas for help.

Soykan was a member of Lambda Istanbul. The organization said police had refused  rebuffed several times in the month before her murder for an order of protection from a man who had beaten her and threatened to kill her on several occasions.

The man was questioned by police after Soykan insisted to authorities her life was in danger. He was released after questioning several days before the murder. The man is now under arrest for with her murder, but charges have yet to be laid.

Lambda Istanbul and Human Rights Watch accuse police of not taking seriously threats against Turkey’s LGBT citizens.

“The Turkish police have a duty to respond to all credible threats of violence, whoever the victim,” said Juliana Cano Nieto, researcher in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights program at Human Rights Watch.

“Investigating violence against LGBT people, prosecuting suspects, and passing effective legislation to ensure equality are all critical to ensuring that these murderous abuses end,” said Nieto.

This was the second killing of a member of Lambda Istanbul in the past year.

In July 2008, an unknown person shot and killed 26-year-old Ahmet Yildiz as he was leaving a cafe near the Bosporus. No one has been charged.

In 2007, Lambda Istanbul twice submitted a file of 146 cases they had documented to the Istanbul Provincial Human Rights Board, many dealing with reports of violence against transgender people, including cases of violence by the police. Several of these cases had been reported to the police but no action was taken. The then-deputy governor of Istanbul told Lambda Istanbul that the governor’s office had found no records of these allegations and complaints in the police districts involved.

“Until an anti-discrimination law is in place to protect the LGBT community and the police take seriously their duty to protect everyone, these murders will continue,” said Nieto. “Turkey cannot continue to ignore its obligations when lives are at stake.”