Two months ago, the Bar Association in Diyarbakir, the largest city of Turkey’s mainly Kurdish southeast, received an application from an underage boy, who, on the advice of friends, sought refuge with the institution.

The teenager, whose name is withheld due to his receiving death threats, wrote along the following lines: “I was beaten by family members after they learned I was homosexual. After the beating, my father held a gun to my head, put a Quran in my hands and told me to repent. I somehow managed to run away the following day. My family stormed the homes of my friends and battered them, too. I have nowhere to take refuge. My life is in danger.”

Accompanied by lawyers, the teenager lodged complaints with the police and the prosecutor’s office. Given the severity of the situation, he was placed in a child care institution in another city, with no information relayed to his family. He will stay there until he turns 18 and then finds a way to look after himself.

The teenager’s story is heartbreaking, but he could still be considered lucky — for now — as many homosexuals in Turkey perish at the hands of their own relatives in “honor killings.”