Turkey’s Pride Marches Met with Mass Detentions: A Blow to LGBTQ+ Rights and Freedom of Expression

Turkey: Mass Detentions at Pride Marches Conflict With Court Decisions on Right to Free Assembly

June 27, 2023 1:00AM EDT

ISTANBUL — Human rights organizations are condemning the violent intervention and mass detentions by Istanbul police at the Istanbul Pride March on June 25, 2023. Despite a ban on all Pride events in the city and a full police lockdown, demonstrators in Istanbul and Izmir attempted to exercise their right to peaceful assembly and expression. These detentions are a flagrant violation of the right to freedom of assembly and highlight the Turkish government’s campaign against the rights of the LGBTQ+ community.

Government Ban on Pride Marches

For the ninth consecutive year, the Istanbul Pride March and all other Pride events were banned by the Istanbul governor. The ban was justified on social media as a measure to protect the institution of the family. Similarly, pride demonstrations were also banned in the western city of Izmir.

These bans are in direct conflict with recent judicial decisions that have found them to be unlawful. Over the past three years, eight courts in different cities across Turkey ruled that the bans on Pride marches and activities violated both the Turkish Constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights. These court decisions stated that there must be clear, concrete, and imminent danger to justify such bans.

However, by the time these rulings are issued, the Pride events have already been banned, rendering the court decisions ineffective in ensuring the rights of the LGBTQ+ community to assembly and freedom of expression. Furthermore, public authorities consistently disregard the courts’ rulings and continue to carry out these discriminatory bans.

The Ongoing Pattern of Discrimination

These recent bans on Pride and LGBTQ+ assemblies are part of a larger pattern of discrimination against the community by the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The government has made several discriminatory statements against the LGBTQ+ community, and there have been suggestions to amend Turkey’s Constitution to define marriage as only between a man and a woman.

During his election campaign, President Erdoğan targeted the LGBTQ+ community as a theme, using derogatory language to refer to opposition parties. The leader of the Islamist Yeniden Refah Party also vowed to close down LGBTQ+ associations on national television. Even after winning the election, President Erdoğan continued to make discriminatory statements against the LGBTQ+ community.

Call for Action

Human rights organizations and activists are calling on the Turkish government to respect the rights of the LGBTQ+ community and uphold its international obligations. Both the European Court of Human Rights and Turkey’s own courts have ordered the government to guarantee the right to assembly and freedom of expression.

The bans on Pride marches and events, as well as the violent police interventions, are unlawful tactics aimed at suppressing the LGBTQ+ community’s right to peaceful assembly. The Turkish government must immediately stop detaining and prosecuting Pride demonstrators and allow them to peacefully exercise their fundamental right to protest.

It is crucial for not only the Turkish government but also the international community to condemn these violations and exert pressure on Turkey to uphold human rights and protect the rights of LGBTQ+ individuals. Solidarity is necessary to ensure that prejudice and discrimination are not perpetuated against marginalized communities.

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