A Turkish transgender doctor has been banned from practising medicine after she allegedly broke the ‘code of ethics’ for posting snaps of herself on the beach in a swimming costume.

She claims that the decision was purely political and an attempt to discourage Turkish members of the LGBTQI community from pursuing careers in medicine.

Doctor Larin Kayatas told her 53,400 followers on Twitter that she had been banned from working as a doctor and in the civil service after a colleague filed a complaint against her for ‘immoral’ behaviour.

Larin, who trained for six-year to become a doctor, was dismissed from her post at a hospital in Istambul yesterday (13th September) after one of her colleagues filed a complaint to the Presidential Communication Center (CIMER).

She claims that she has spent years being targeted at work because of her sexuality and social media posts where she regularly posts about the struggles of the LGBTQI community in Turkey.

After being notified of her dismissal she took to social media to express her outrage at the decisions which she believes is linked to the fact that she is transgender and attended a women’s rights march earlier on in the year (8th March).

The exact reason given for her dismissal was not made public by CIMER or local media.

She said that during a disciplinary meeting she was asked: “Why did you join the march? Are you trans?”

She wrote on Twitter: “How is being a trans woman a crime, and how on earth does it limit my ability to carry out my duties as a doctor?”

The young doctor added: “I have worked my whole life to become a doctor. I went through six years of education and now my future has been shattered.”

According to Larin, the decision was purely political and an attempt to send a message to other people in the LGBTQI community that they are not free to express themselves in Turkey.

Larin says her basic rights have been violated and she will not give up as she embarks on bringing a legal challenge against the dismissal.

Netizens came out to support Larin posting numerous messages under her posts supporting her and telling her not to let them take away the career that she has worked so hard to build.

It is not clear if Larin’s appeal has made any progress and local media didn’t give details about whether CIMER responded to the claims of unfair dismissal.