Turkish Police Detain Over 50 Ahead of Banned Istanbul Pride Parade
Turkish Police Detain Over 50 Ahead of Banned Istanbul Pride Parade
Turkish police arrested more than 50 individuals in Istanbul on Sunday, just hours before a planned LGBTQ+ Pride march that had been banned by city authorities. The Istanbul Bar Association’s Human Rights Centre confirmed the detentions, stating that four of their colleagues were among those arbitrarily held.
Journalists from AFP observed arrests taking place near the central Ortaköy district earlier in the day. Taksim Square, a traditional gathering point, was heavily barricaded by police from early Sunday morning to prevent any assembly.
Istanbul Pride has faced annual bans from Turkey’s conservative government since 2015. Istanbul Governor Davut Gül had issued warnings on Saturday, declaring that calls undermining ‘social peace, family structure, and moral values’ were prohibited, and any gathering threatening public order would not be tolerated.
While homosexuality is not criminalized in Turkey, homophobia is prevalent, with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan frequently denouncing LGBTQ+ individuals. The crackdown in Istanbul contrasts sharply with events in Hungary, where a record 200,000 people marched in Budapest’s Pride parade on Saturday, defying a similar government ban.
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