More than 30 people have been detained in Central Istanbul as they took part in a Pride March. The opposition party reports that the march was prohibited as part of the year-long crackdown on the LGBTQ+ community.
Police were seen scuffling with a group of activists holding rainbow flags in the city centre before rounding them up and loading them into police vans. Taksim Square, one of the city’s main venues for protests, celebrations and rallies, was blocked off by police from early on Sunday.
Istanbul Pride has been banned annually by Turkish authorities since 2015, including this year. The government cites public safety and security concerns as the reason. However, small groups of activists continue to organise the march. An estimated 200,000 people, a record, marched in the Budapest Pride parade Saturday, defying a ban by Orbán’s government.
The opposition takes a stand
Kezban Konukcu, a lawmaker from the opposition DEM Party, attended the march. She states, “ The palace regime cannot maintain power by demonising the LGBTQ community.” She reported that at least 30 people have been detained.
Istanbul Bar’s Human Rights Centre posted on X, “ Before today’s Istanbul Pride march, four of our colleagues, including members of our Human Rights Centre, along with more than 50 people, were deprived of their liberty through arbitrary, unjust, and illegal detention.”
In the face of opposition criticism, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK party) doubles down on their front.
Istanbul’s governor, Davut Gül, had warned on X on Saturday, “ These calls, which undermine social peace, family structure, and moral values, are prohibited.” He adds, “ No gathering or march that threatens public order will be tolerated.”
Even though homosexuality is not criminalised in Turkey, homophobia is widespread. The President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has publicly criticised the LGBTQ+ community with harsh words such as “perverts” and a threat to the traditional family.
In January, Erdogan declared 2025 the "Year of the Family," describing Turkey's declining birth rate as an existential threat and accusing the LGBTQ+ movement of threatening the traditional family.
"The primary goal of the gender neutralisation policies, in which LGBT is used as a battering ram, is the family and the sanctity of the family institution," he said at the time.
