İstanbul’s vice police raided a "kink party" in the Beyoğlu district on Oct 20, taking 32 people into custody on charges of indecent behavior, including two foreign nationals.
Eight of the detained, including organizers of the event and owners of the venue, were subsequently remanded in custody. The two foreign nationals were transferred to the Arnavutköy Removal Center, while other detainees were released, according to the İstanbul Pride Comittee.
The committee criticized the raid as a discriminatory practice against the LGBTI+ community. The police asked the detained individuals about their sexual orientations and presented the sex toys seized during the raid as “elements of crime,” it noted.
"This venue has been a safe space for the LGBTI+ community for years, and we don’t believe the raid and arrests at a party in this LGBTI+ space were coincidental," the committee further said. "While recent political and social discourse appears to be normalizing many issues, it is clear that this does not extend to LGBTI+s or nontraditional expressions of sexuality. We call for solidarity in the face of these unlawful arrests and raids."
Article 225 of the Turkish Penal Code criminalizes acts such as exhibitionism and sexual intercourse in public. However, the event was a private party with access restricted to ticket holders.
It appears to have been organized by a group named “Kinky Turkey,” according to information on an online ticketing platform, and the group has organized similar events in recent months in İstanbul and Ankara.
Dün yayınladığımız gönderi üzerine açıklama ihtiyacı duyduk. Taksim’de yıllardır hizmet veren bir LGBTI+ mekanda düzenlenen Kinky partiye yapılan polis baskını sonucunda yaşanan gözaltı ve tutuklamalara karşı bugün yaptığımız açıklama: pic.twitter.com/LS0AEqfYy9
— İstanbul LGBTİ+ Onur Haftası (@istanbulpride) October 23, 2024
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