Turkey, protest for LGBTQ rights: over 200 arrests in Istanbul

Turkish police arrested more than 200 participants in an LGBTQ rights protest that was held in Istanbul today. The organizers of the event denounce it. Authorities had cordoned off much of Cihangir’s central neighborhood, preventing people from gathering. A ban on protest was previously issued for security reasons. Security forces surrounded people carrying rainbow flags and other symbols of sexual and gender diversity, taking them into custody even before the protest began. According to the MLSA Bar Association, among the detainees was Bülent Kilic, a photographer from Agence France-Presse. Despite the police action, people waving rainbow flags gathered in the narrow streets of Cihangir, a neighborhood where many artists, authors and theater characters live, while residents signaled their disapproval of the arrests by beating pots. they had called the Pride March under the slogan “Resistance”, voicing criticisms of what they described as an increasingly hostile environment for LGBTQ people in Turkey. Authorities have also banned other Pride Week-related events. Having taken place unhindered for more than 10 years, the Istanbul Pride Parade has come under increasing pressure since it was first banned in 2015.