ISTANBUL: Turkish police detained at least 15 protesters in Istanbul on Sunday (Jun 30) for participating in a banned LGBT Pride rally, after searching the streets having arrived at the scene after participants had dispersed, a Reuters witness said.
The Istanbul Governor’s Office said earlier on Sunday that the Pride March would not be permitted. Turkish police blocked central Istanbul to prevent the march from taking place, shutting down metro stations and blocking traffic on the main streets.
President Tayyip Erdogan’s Islamic-rooted AK Party has toughened its rhetoric against the LGBT community over the past decade and banned pride marches since 2015, citing “security reasons”.
The Istanbul Governor’s Office labelled the organizations calling for the Pride March as illegal.
