demonstrations
Police arrest participants in Pride Walk in Türkiye
Police officers block protesters during the Pride parade in Istanbul. photo
© Emrah Gurel/AP/dpa
The police tried in advance to prevent the gathering for the Pride parade in Istanbul. But several hundred people attended the event, which also led to arrests.
According to the organizers, at least 93 people were arrested in the course of this year’s Pride parade in the Turkish metropolis of Istanbul. Before the demonstration began, the police cordoned off large parts of the center to prevent the gathering.
The participants then switched to another part of the city. They waved a meter-long rainbow flag from a building and issued a press statement. Several hundred people attended the event.
In the western Turkish city of Izmir, the police also took action against participants in the local Pride parade and, according to the organizers, arrested at least 48 people.
Government in Turkey hostile to LGBTQ
In Turkey, government officials and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan have repeatedly spoken out openly hostile to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people. For years attempts have been made to prevent the annual demonstration.
The governor of the province of Istanbul, Davut Gül, had already announced in advance that he would not allow events that “threaten the family”. Several events related to the so-called Pride month to make LGBTQ people visible were banned, including a picnic and a film screening.