19th İstanbul Pride March: Police attack in Taksim, several people detained

* Photo: Dilara Elçin Özçelikel

Click to read the article in Turkish / Kurdish

As the İstanbul Governor's Office did not permit the İstanbul 19th LGBTI+ Pride March to take place in the Maltepe Meeting Site on the Asian side of İstanbul, the pride march was to be held in Taksim. However, this time, the Sub-Governor's Office of Beyoğlu banned the 19th Pride March.

In a statement released earlier today (June 26), the Sub-Governor's Office of Beyoğlu banned the Pride March in Taksim, citing "indivisibility of the state, public morality and COVID-19 measures".

* Photo: Dilara Elçin Özçelikel

Following the decision of ban, the police were stationed in and around Taksim. The police attacked the group who had gathered in Taksim. Using plastic bullets, they reportedly detained at least 20 people.

Police detained the people in rear-handcuffs and by battering them.

* Photo: Evrim Kepenek / bianet

Police closed all roads leading to Mis Street. Moreover, the ones sitting in cafes and restaurants in Mis Street were battered and taken out of there. One journalist was taken into custody by the police.

The detained journalist has been released afterwards.

Intervention against the ones sitting in cafes

Police forced the ones sitting in cafes in Mis Street near the İstiklal Avenue to leave. They did not allow anyone to enter the street. When a journalist said that she wanted to enter the site, the officer answered, "Our chief said that we especially shouldn't allow journalists."

Despite the police attack, the LGBTI+ Pride March continued on the side streets of Beyoğlu. The statement for the press was read out in Cihangir:

We want not only this street, but also the whole of Taksim, Istanbul and all cities and rurals. Bless your heart lubunya! Happy pride month!

CLICK - İstanbul governor bans LGBTI+ Pride March again

About the İstanbul Pride March

The first İstanbul LGBTI+ Pride March was attempted to be held in İstiklal Avenue in Taksim in 1993; however, the group was prevented from holding the march, several people were detained. The first İstanbul LGBTI+ Pride March was held in İstiklal ten years later, in 2003.

The Pride March was held there every year afterwards; it especially turned into a wide-scale event in 2013 and 2014, when tens of thousands of people gathered in Taksim for the Pride March.

Starting from 2015, the İstanbul LGBTI+ Pride March was banned by the İstanbul Governor's Office on discriminatory and unlawful grounds.

Despite these discriminatory bans that continued in the following years, the LGBTI+ community kept on being on the streets.

This year, the plans to organize a picnic in the Princes Islands were faced with threats. The picnic was moved to Maçka Park, where the police attacked the picnickers. The Şişli Sub-Governor's Office has banned meetings and demonstrations in the district for 30 days.

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(EMK/RT/SD)