At least 50 arrested in Istanbul defying Pride ban

As they do every year, LGBTQ activists gathered in Istanbul to celebrate love at a Pride parade, and as happens every year, the cops cuffed them and hauled them away.

At least 50 people were detained in the Turkish city on Sunday as they gathered in defiance of a government ban. They were also protesting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s strict stance against LGBTQ rights and freedoms.

Erdogan, who won reelection in a runoff last month, is with the country’s AK Party, rooted in Islam, and has accused his opposition of being “Pro-LGBT,” according to Reuters.

“We are against the LGBT,” he said at one campaign rally before last month’s election, according to The Guardian. “Family is sacred to us — a strong family means a strong nation.”

The Pride gathering was met with police in riot gear blocking access to Istiklal Avenue, where LGBTQ marches are traditionally held. They also stopped people from entering Taksim Square and surrounding streets, even going so far as to suspend public transportation.

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Undeterred, the celebrants carried their rainbow and transgender flags to Mistik Park, marching through the streets of the city’s Sisli district and chanting slogans as the organizers read a Pride week statement in the square, near a huge rainbow flag.

Amnesty International in Turkey said one person suffered head injuries while being arrested.

Turkey has banned Pride gatherings since 2015, and since, then scores of people have been arrested annually while celebrating. Amnesty International’s Turkey office urged tolerance and cautioned that the government’s tough stance was injurious.

“By ramping up anti-LGBTI rhetoric, the government has helped whip up prejudice, emboldening anti-LGBTI groups in Türkiye, some of which have called for violence against LGBTI communities,” said Nils Muižnieks, Amnesty International’s Europe Director, in a statement on Friday. “Under the pretext of protecting family values, the authorities are denying LGBTI people the right to live freely.”

With News Wire Services