Dozens of persons detained at a Pride march in Istanbul, where these demonstrations are forbidden
Retained people at the Pride march in Istanbul, Turkey, Sunday, June 29, 2025. Credit: Dilara Acikgoz / AP / Profimedia
The Turkish police detained at least 30 people in the center of Istanbul on Sunday, while they were trying to participate in a Pride march that the authorities have banned as part of the repression measures aimed for years, the events of the LGBTQ+community, announced an opposition official, according to Reuters.
Kezban Konucu, a parliamentarian of the Pro-Kurd Dem party, told Reuters that the authorities have detained at least 30 people.
The police did not respond at the time to comment on the subject.
Previously, the office of the Governor in Istanbul had stated that the march is illegal and that the groups promoting the event operate “illegally”.
Authorities have banned Pride march in Turkey's largest city in 2015, invoking concerns about public safety and security.
The Party of Justice and Development (AKP), the formation of President Erdogan, has adopted an increasingly harsh discourse on the LGBTQ+ community over the last decade.
In January, Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared 2025 the “family year”, demanding the decrease of birth in Turkey as an existential threat and accusing the LGBTQ+ movement of undermine traditional values.
“The main purpose of the gender neutralization policies, in which LGBT is used as a ram, is the family and sacred character of the family institution,” Erdogan said in January.
Human rights organizations have condemned Turkey's position. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International claim that the government's speech and actions feed a hostile environment for LGBTQ+people, contributing to increasing discrimination and violence.
Despite the prohibitions, small groups of activists continue to mark Pride Week every year. The organizers say that the increasingly aggressive response of the police reflects wider repression against the dissident and freedom of meeting in Turkey.
This weekend there was a Pride March in Budapest, where there was also a prohibition against the event. Prime Minister Viktor Orban claims that the march, attended by over 100,000 people, was orchestrated by “Brussels”.
