« Two district governor’s offices in Istanbul have banned all LGBTI+ Pride Week events, scrapping what would have marked the 30th anniversary of the celebrations in the megacity » reports Ahval News.
The Beyoğlu and Kadıköy District Governor’s offices announced a ban on all gatherings in both districts, where Pride Week events have traditionally been held, on Monday, Diken news site reported, citing the Law on Demonstrations and Public Meetings.
The ban will be in effect for a period of one week starting on Tuesday, Diken said.
Istanbul’s gay pride parades, which attracted up to 100,000 people from across the region, have been banned since 2014 , with officials citing security reasons for the ban.
Turkey’s LGBTQ groups accuse the government of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of waging a “hate campaign” against them, encouraging violence against a vulnerable community.
Turkey has ranked second worst country in the European Union for LGBT people, scoring only above Azerbaijan, according the 2022 “Rainbow Europe” ranking compiled by Brussels-based NGO advocating for LGBT rights, ILGA-Europe.
Last month, Turkish police intervened in a Pride march held at Istanbul’s Boğaziçi University, briefly detaining at least 70 students participating in the protest, Evrensel newspaper reported.
Ahval News, June 20, 2022