İstanbul Pride Parade: LGBTI+ activists gather despite restrictions, nearly 100 detained

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Despite bans and a heavy police presence, LGBTI+ activists gathered today in İstanbul's Şişli district, defying the obstacles placed before them.

While the governorate refrained from officially issuing a prohibition, the traditional location for marches, Taksim, saw police barricades on all roads and closure of metro stations. Undeterred, activists chose to assemble in Nişantaşı, approximately a kilometer away from Taksim, without prior announcement.

The activists who gathered in Mıstık Park in Nişantaşı hung a gigantic rainbow flag on the facade of a multi-story parking lot opposite the park.

"You will get used to us"

The activists read out a statement, saying, "We carry the anger of the queers who have been subjected to torture by the state and its law enforcement agencies, and we declare that our anger will burn you. We will not leave our spaces; you will get used to us."

"After the elections, we saw once again that we were targeted in the balcony speech," they said, referring to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's victory speech following his re-election last month. "We reject this politics of hatred and denial. Despite all the prohibitions, criminalizations, pressures, and attempts to suppress us, we will continue to advocate for a humane life for everyone and persist in democratic living."

Meanwhile, the crowd chanted the slogans, "Run Tayyip, run. Queers are coming!" "Liberation fo queers will shake the world," and "Queers exist, Kurdistan exists."

CLICK - Read the full statement

More than 90 people detained

Shortly after, the police arrived and told them that the demonstration would not be permitted while blocking the roads.

Police officers surrounded T24 news website editors Candan Yıldız and Hazal Sipahi, as well as dance artist Serkan Öztürk. they briefly apprehended the journalists and detained the dancer.

More than 90 people were detained in Nişantaşı, as well as Beşiktaş and Cihangir, the Pride Week Committee said. Some of the detained were sitting in cafes after the demonstration when the police detained them.

Subsequently, the police retreated from the streets and the crowd dispersed in side streets while chanting slogans.

(TY/EMK/WM/VK)