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Over 30 detained in Istanbul as police disrupt banned Pride March
Authorities have banned Pride marches in Turkey's largest city since 2015, citing public safety and security concerns read more
Turkish police detained at least 30 individuals in central Istanbul on Sunday as they attempted to participate in a Pride March, which authorities had prohibited as part of a years-long crackdown on LGBTQ+ gatherings, according to an opposition legislator.
Reuters video saw police scuffling with a group of protestors brandishing rainbow flags in the city centre before collecting them up and putting them into police vehicles.
Kezban Konukcu, a pro-Kurdish DEM Party legislator who joined the march, told Reuters that at least 30 people were detained.
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Police did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
The Istanbul governor's office had already declared the march illegal, claiming that parties supporting it were acting 'illegally'.
Authorities have banned Pride marches in Turkey's largest city since 2015, citing public safety and security concerns.
President Tayyip Erdogan's Islamist-rooted AK Party has adopted increasingly harsh rhetoric against the LGBTQ+ community over the past decade.
In January, Erdogan declared 2025 the 'Year of the Family,' describing Turkey's declining birth rate as an existential threat and accusing the LGBTQ+ movement of undermining traditional values.
'The primary goal of the gender neutralization policies, in which LGBT is used as a battering ram, is the family and the sanctity of the family institution,' Erdogan said in January.
Rights groups have condemned Turkey's stance. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have warned that government rhetoric and actions are fuelling a hostile environment for LGBTQ+ people, contributing to rising discrimination and violence.
Despite the bans, small groups of activists continue to mark Pride Week each year. Organizers say the increasingly aggressive police response reflects broader crackdowns on dissent and freedom of assembly in Turkey.
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