The ILGA-Europe Turkey Pride Monitor

For three years now, ILGA-Europe has been closely following the escalating repression of LGBTI Pride events in Turkey. Each summer, courageous activists across the country take to the streets, facing bans, arrests, and police brutality, while defending their fundamental rights to freedom of assembly and expression. From creative resistance to peaceful protest in the face of violence, the last three years reveal both the persistence of Turkish LGBTI activism and the mounting hostility of the state.

2025

Attacks on Prides this year showed a new level of targeting, with authorities detaining people on suspicion alone. The criminalisation of Pride has grown more aggressive, and now also includes legal escalations, such as travel bans and judicial referrals.

METU Pride (22 May): The 13th METU Pride March began with a rainbow flag draped over the Chemical Engineering building and kicked off in front of the Physics lawns. It concluded with a press statement in front of the main building, where participants were met with a heavy police and riot control presence. Private security also attempted to block the march.

Hacettepe Pride (22 May): Participants were targeted by the university’s private security unit. While the police did not allow the march, students managed to make their press statement despite all obstacles.

Ankara Pride (22 June): Despite attempts to block the march, activists read their statement and dispersed peacefully.

Trans Pride Istanbul (22 June): Although multiple city districts were blocked off and gatherings banned, activists marched in Acıbadem under the banner “Revolt/Serhildan”. Police later violently dispersed the group and detained 46 people. Five people now face judicial controls and travel bans.

Izmir Pride (27-29 June): The 13th İzmir LGBTI+ Pride Week and its events were banned for three days by the İzmir Governor’s Office on the grounds of protecting public morality and security. Despite the unlawful ban, Pride March participants gathered and managed to march for a short time but were forced to disperse without reading their press statement due to police threats of detention.

Istanbul Pride (29 June): At least 50 people were detained as they attempted to march. Detainees included lawyers and journalists. Arrests occurred not just at the protest site, but even in unrelated locations. Five LGBTI activists were detained while eating at a restaurant kilometres away. Police used violence against participants, including a member of parliament.

Activists Hivda Selen, Sinem Çelebi and Doğan Nur were among those arbitrarily detained on the day of the Istanbul Pride march and have been held in pre-trial detention since 30 June on baseless charges related to peaceful assembly. Their trial’s first hearing is set for 8 August at Istanbul Criminal Court of First Instance No. 51. This case marks another alarming escalation in the criminalisation of LGBTI+ expression and peaceful assembly in Turkey.

2024

The 2024 Pride season in Turkey saw continued bans on LGBTI+ themed events, as well as police repression, as the government continues to disregard the fundamental right to freedom of assembly and expression for LGBTI+ people. LGBTI+ activists across the country stepped up their tactics to avoid police repression, bans and arrests as much as possible.

METU Pride (31 May): On the METU student campus, Pride took place without intervention, as organisers moved the start time from 18:00 to noon.

Eskişehir Pride (9 June): Ten LGBTI activists were detained and subjected to torture. For the first time since 2015, four of the detained activists were referred to court with a demand for arrest. Later, all four of them were released.

Ankara Pride (12 June): The Ankara Pride committee, in response to police barricades and water cannons set up in many parts of the city, organised the march on another route. The police were therefore unable to intervene and no one was detained.

Trans Pride Istanbul (23 June): The Istanbul governor’s office blocked metro stations in anticipation of Trans Pride, and hundreds of police officers were sent to the Beyoğlu, Şişli, and Beşiktaş districts, setting up checkpoints, barricades, and water cannons to blockade many roads. As a result, organisers decided not to hold a mass march; instead, they hung trans flags in different public locations. Two people were detained while sitting inside a café.

Izmir Pride (29 June): In İzmir the Pride march was held in Bornova one day before the official march was called to go ahead. This change in timing prevented any interventions.

Istanbul Pride (30 June): During Pride week in Istanbul, two events, one in Şişli and one in Kadıköy, were banned by district governors. The Istanbul Governorship issued a ban on Taksim and Istiklal Street in the early hours of the day of the Istanbul Pride march and described the Istanbul LGBTI+ Pride Week Committee as “various illegal groups”. The police were waiting at Taksim, Beyoğlu but the activists held the march instead at Bağdat Street of Kadıköy (on the Anatolian side) which was the first Istanbul Pride march on the Anatolian side of the city. Activists made a press statement and marched for approximately ten minutes before the police caught up and dispersed the crowd. Eleven people were arrested after the march ended, three of which were minors, who were handcuffed behind their backs in violation of the Child Protection Law. All were released after approximately eight hours.

Antalya Pride (July 1-15) : All protests and events were banned by the governorship for 15 days, from 1-15 July, when Pride events were due to take place. The Pride march went ahead on July 14 and it was attacked by police, who arrested four participants.

Read our 2024 blog for the full analysis

2023

In the wake of President Erdoğan’s re-election, LGBTI people continued to be scapegoated by the ruling coalition. Pride events in 2023 were marked by an intensification of bans and police violence. Istanbul Pride ended with 64 arrests. In İzmir, police detained around 50 people, many of them violently. Even smaller gatherings like picnics or press statements were blocked, and some were attacked. The government’s hostility extended beyond police action, events were cancelled, artists were blacklisted, and LGBTI organisations were increasingly targeted.

Bilkent University Pride, Ankara (June 2): No intervention or arrests occurred.

METU Pride, Ankara (June 9): Police intervened and made 15 arrests, but all were released by 03:00.

Sabancı University of Istanbul (June 12): Peaceful event with no arrests or police intervention.

Cins Klüp (June 12): The LGBTI+ student community at Sabancı University, one of the most prestigious universities in Turkey, organised a Pride march on campus despite attempts by the private security unit to prevent it.

Aydın LGBTI+ Pride Week (June 16-18 ): No march, only events were held.

Adana Colors of Resistance (June 18): An event for trans visibility day called “Trans visibility in the struggle of LGBTI+ rights” was organised.

Trans Pride Istanbul (June 18): The newly appointed Istanbul Governor, Davut Gül, had previously targeted Trans Pride and the LGBTI+ Pride March, issuing a threatening message on Twitter with an emphasis on “family”. Although no official ban was issued by the Governorate, the police blocked the Taksim area with barricades on Sunday morning. The police attacked those gathered in the Harbiye district of Beyoğlu and also targeted press workers who were documenting the events. Despite these challenges, activists delivered their press statement and marched for the 9th Trans Pride.

Istanbul Pride (June 25): The march took place without police intervention, but the police intervened after the march had concluded and the number of detainees has reached 64, including foreign nationals in danger of deportation. Relevant UN agencies, LGBTI+ and refugee organisations are following the process.

Izmir Pride (June 25): A ban was announced the night before the march. There was violent police intervention, resulting in the detention of approximately 50 individuals. Protesters were handcuffed behind their backs, manhandled, and kept in detention cars without fresh air for an extended period.

Eskişehir Pride (July 9): Police blockaded the Hasan Polatkan Cultural Center, where the march was to take place. Stating that the Governorate of Eskişehir had issued a ban on 14 June, the police announced that they would not allow the march to go ahead. Those who had gathered for the march asked for time to disperse. The police intervened harshly and detained 18 people, two of whom are lawyers. The detainees were released on the same day.

Adana Pride Week (3-9 July): The police intervened during a press statement organised for Pride Week. 18 people, including HDP Provincial Co-Chair, Helin Kaya, were beaten and detained. Green Left Party Mersin MP Perihan Koca was beaten and reverse handcuffed. The detainees were released by midnight.

Read our 2023 blog for the full analysis.

As institutionalised anti-LGBTI hate continues to grow in Turkey, LGBTI people are met with increasing danger for simply asserting their right to exist. Yet every June, across cities and campuses, in backstreets and public squares, they keep marching. ILGA-Europe stands in full solidarity with Turkish LGBTI activists. We call on international actors to raise these ongoing rights violations in all relevant engagements with the Turkish government, and urge donors to increase support to civil society on the ground.