Turkish police have released all of the nearly 400 people detained during a banned Pride march in Istanbul, organizers said yesterday.
Although homosexuality has been legal throughout the period of the modern Turkish republic, Istanbul Pride has been banned since a 2014 parade drew tens of thousands of participants in one of the biggest LGBTQ+ events in the majority Muslim region.
Kaos GL Association, which campaigns to promote the rights of LGBTQ+ people, wrote on Twitter that all 373 people detained on Sunday have been released, many of them “after a night in custody.”
Photo: Reuters
The detention began even before the banned rally’s start, with riot police raiding cafes and streets in a scenic district of Istanbul near Taksim Square, where the event was to be held, reporters said.
Those detained included a news photographer, who was released late on Sunday.
Police prevented the media from filming the Istanbul arrests, reporters said.
Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatovic had urged Turkish officials to let the march go ahead and to ensure the safety of the marchers.
“The human rights of LGBTQ+ people in Turkey need to be effectively protected,” she said.
The Istanbul Governor’s Office had forbidden the march around Taksim Square in the heart of Istanbul, but protesters gathered nearby under heavy police presence earlier than scheduled.
Police detained protesters, loading them on to buses.
Reporters saw four busloads of detained people, including Agence France-Presse head photographer Bulent Kilic.
Kilic, who was taken away handcuffed from the back, was also arrested at last year’s Istanbul Pride march.
Hundreds of protesters carrying rainbow flags had pressed ahead with the rally in defiance of police.
“The future is queer,” they chanted. “We are here. We are queer. We are not going anywhere.”
“All those detained solely for their participation in Pride must be released immediately and unconditionally,” Amnesty International senior campaigner Milena Buyum said on Sunday.
Diren, a 22-year-old university student, condemned the hate crimes targeting LGBTQ+ people.
“We are banned, prevented, discriminated and even killed at every second of our lives. Today, it’s a very special day for us to defend our rights and to say that we do exist,” Diren said. “Police violence is aimed to stop us, but it is not possible. You will be unable to stop the queers.”
Since 2014, the march has been banned each year, officially for security reasons.
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