Turkey: 50 Arrested in Crackdown on Istanbul Pride

In a continued assault on LGBTIQ+ rights in Turkey, police arrested 54 people on Sunday as they attempted to hold a Pride event in Istanbul—the latest in a series of crackdowns since Pride was banned in 2015.

According to ILGA-Europe, a group of around 50 people were detained in central Istanbul after briefly marching through the streets and reading out a press statement in support of Pride.

Among those arrested were not only activists but also three journalists, who were covering the event, and four lawyers. A member of parliament was also reportedly targeted by police during the crackdown.

There are additional reports of arrests in surrounding neighbourhoods, where individuals were detained based solely on the suspicion that they might attend the Pride march.

Arbitrary Detentions and Police Brutality

In one incident, five activists were arrested while eating at a restaurant eight kilometres from the march route. The Istanbul Pride Committee stated that undercover police officers carried out the arrests.

“They tried to place the city and queer people under siege,” said Istanbul Pride in a statement.

“Our friends in custody were subjected to severe torture, verbal abuse, and insults. They were held with their hands cuffed behind their backs for up to 24 hours, denied access to their medications, and their meetings with lawyers were delayed for hours. They were kept in custody overnight.”

Defiant in the Face of Repression

Despite the intimidation, Istanbul Pride remains resolute. “We will not give up our freedom and rights because of arbitrary bans and arbitrary practices. We do not allow you to criminalise our lives. We do not allow you to turn our existence into a crime,” said the committee.

While some of those arrested have since been released, it remains unclear how many activists are still being held in custody.

ILGA-Europe has called for greater global solidarity with the Turkish LGBTIQ+ community and the organisers of Istanbul Pride.

The organisation noted the contrast between the international outrage over Hungary’s Pride ban—which saw around 200,000 people take to the streets in defiance—and the comparative silence around Turkey’s decade-long Pride ban.

Erdogan Doubles Down on Anti-LGBTQ+ Rhetoric

At the recent International Family Forum in Istanbul, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan continued his attacks on the queer community. He claimed that the “traditional family” was under threat from what he described as the “LGBT plague” and “LGBT perversion”.

The government also is intent on passing legislation that would impose prison sentences ranging from 3 to 5 years for “promoting” or disseminating information about “sexual relations or behaviours between persons of the same biological sex in any way”.

The bill also contains a troubling clause that criminalises transgender people who do not disclose their sex assigned at birth before marriage. Those who fail to do so risk imprisonment for “fraudulent marriage.”