The murder toll for trans women in Turkey has tragically risen again following the death of Serap Güneşer, 25, last week.

Güneşer, a sex worker, was stabbed and had her throat cut in Antalya in the early hours of Wednesday 24 October. She was alive when police arrived but died before she reached hospital.

Turkish trans rights activist Kemal Ordek told Gay Star News that some of Güneşer’s friends tried to help her by staunching the blood flow, but when the police reached the crime scene they forcibly dispersed them using pepper spray. They also said there was a delay getting her to the hospital.

‘According to the eyewitnesses, Serap died because of this,’ Ordek said.

Ordek, who is a Trandsgender Europe (TGEU) steering committee member, has contacted a lawyer who is pursuing the case with the police.

Another trans woman, Secil Anne, was murdered in Antalya in July.

In June 100 residents gathered in Altındağ in Antalya to protest the presence of transgender sex workers in their neighborhood. They warned that they would get violent if the police did not resolve the problem.

It is not know if Güneşer was murdered in the Altındağ area, but one newspaper report mentioned that there was tension between local residents and trans sex workers.

The Trans Murder Monitoring project shows that Turkey has by far the most reported murders of trans people in Europe, with 23 reported from January 2008 until December 2011.