15/02/2023 | Writer: Yıldız Tar
A lawsuit was brought against 42 people who were detained during Ankara Pride March. The indictment revealed that a detainee activist was blacklisted due to “their habitual participation in unlawful protests”.
A lawsuit was brought against people detained during Ankara Pride March which was subjected to an intense police attack. While religious anti-LGBTI+ sects were allowed to make hatred and lynching calls to Hacı Bayram Mosque and Kuğulu Park, the indictment regarding 42 people detained during Ankara Pride March on July 5 in 2022, was admitted.
Although the indictment filed by Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office was rejected at first, the prosecutor's objection was sustained and the case began.
The activists detained by police violence will be before the court on the grounds of violating Law no. 2911 on Meetings and Demonstrations, insulting, intentional injury and resisting to prevent public officers from performing their duty.
The indictment includes the tearing of a policeman’s jeans, excludes the police violence!
The indictment refers to the Ankara Pride March as “so-called”, while Islamist groups, who came together in order to attack LGBTI+s on the same day, were referred to as “citizens”. And the statement as “42 suspects were busted during the unlawful protests which were organized by people supporting Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex (Lgbti+) formations” were used for detainee LGBTI+ activists.
Claiming that LGBTI+ activists detained with police violence attacked the police, the prosecutor added that a policeman’s “jeans bought for 299,99 TL was torn” into the indictment. On the other side intense police violence, which was also captured on cameras, was not included in the prosecutor’s indictment.
Confession of blacklisting in the indictment!
On the other hand the prosecutor confessed the blacklisting by stating that one of the person detained during the Pride March is “known for his habitual participation in unlawful protests and being subjected to judicial investigations as a result of this”.
What happened in Ankara Pride March?
The police, who allowed anti-LGBTI+ religious groups to make calls for lynching and hatred, attacked 2nd Ankara LGBTI+ Pride March.
Kuğulu Park, where the 2nd Ankara Pride March was planned to be held, was encircled with police vehicles before the march. Journalists were driven apart forcibly from the area. And they kicked LGBTI+s out of the park by saying “We will not let the show.”
LGBTI+s brought about the Pride March against all the odds. The slogan “Despite hate, long live life” raised from the back streets of Tunalı Hilmi Avenue.
The police, who took an LGBTI+ activist into custody before the gathering began, detained 42 people using too much tear gas. They practiced rear handcuffing as a torture. The detainees were released after their testimonies were taken at the Police Department, in the early hours of July 6.
Emre Vural, journalist from Mezopotamya Agency, got maced in the face within the scope of the attacks, in which more than 20 LGBTI+ activists were taken into custody. The police also attacked Aslı Alpar, reporter of KaosGL.org, and injured their leg.
LGBTI+s marched through Tunalı Hilmi Avenue, with various small groups before the attacks. The police attacked and battered LGBTI+s in Bestekar Street and Kennedy Avenue. The press statement of Ankara Pride March was read by marching at Tunalı Hilmi Avenue. On the other side, anti-LGBTI+ religious groups also attempted to attack LGBTI+s.
Translation: Selma Koçak
Tags: human rights
