2023-06-23 15:43:32
©Erhan Demirtas/NurPhoto/Getty
Turkey’s LGBTI population is facing increasing and unrelenting repression this Pride season, Amnesty International said on the eve of the Istanbul and Izmir Pride marches, which are due to take place on Sunday despite planned attempts to ban them.
Politicians – including senior government officials – have used discriminatory language against LGBTI people both before and after Turkey’s recent elections, and as Pride Month progresses, restrictions have been imposed and arrests have been made across the country.
“As thousands of people take to the streets of Istanbul and Izmir in defiance, they risk facing tear gas and rubber bullets. Authorities must allow Turkey’s LGBTI Pride marches to take place safely and without interference”, said Nils Muižnieks, Director of Amnesty International for Europe.
“By fueling anti-LGBTI rhetoric, the government has contributed to stoking prejudice, emboldening anti-LGBTI groups in Turkey, some of which have called for violence against the LGBTI population. Under the pretext of protecting family values, the authorities deny LGBTI people the right to live freely.”
Since 2015, Pride events have been systematically banned in Türkiye. In this edition of Pride, the authorities have repressed even small acts such as picnics and film screenings.
Although an official ban on Istanbul and Izmir Pride has yet to be issued, organizers are counting on it to be issued or the marches to be blocked. These peaceful activities have been interrupted before, even without an official ban, under the pretext of protecting public order, and the authorities have carried out arbitrary arrests.
On June 18, police blocked Istanbul Trans Pride and, using excessive force, detained 10 people who were trying to march.
In recent weeks there have been at least 27 arrests of LGBTI activists in the country. On June 9, 15 students from the Middle East Technical University were arrested after demonstrating peacefully in violation of the de facto ban on all LGBTI events in Ankara.
In a pre-election speech, President Erdoğan stated that “LGBTI and[ra] a poison injected into the institution of the family that is not p[odía] accept”. In his victory speech, he said: “No one will speak against the family.”
At the beginning of the year, the government proposed to amend the Turkish constitution to redefine “family” as “the union of a man and a woman”, which exacerbated hostility against LGBTI people. LGBTI activists also fear that the amendment will set the country on a path toward criminalizing same-sex relationships and banning LGBTI organizations.
“The repression of Pride events has nothing to do with security and public order issues, but with an agenda that is increasingly contrary to the LGBTI population“, said Nils Muižnieks.
“The Pride events will take place despite the restrictions and the constant reduction of the space for LGBTI people in Turkey, and the possible harassment and intimidation by the state. We offer them our solidarity throughout the world.”
The Istanbul and Izmir Pride marches will be held on June 25. Amnesty International will send two separate teams to carry out observation tasks.
Amnesty International has launched the global campaign “Protect the Protest” to show solidarity with Pride in Turkey.
Istanbul Pride has been held since 2003, but the authorities have illegally and arbitrarily banned it since 2015, violating the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and expression. The police have subjected peaceful protesters to the unlawful use of force and arbitrary detention.
In Mersin, Adana, Ankara and Eskisehir, LGBTI activism plans to go ahead with Pride events despite bans and restrictions.
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