03/07/2024 | Writer: Oğulcan Özgenç
The final hearing of the lawsuit filed against the 2nd Pride March held in Ankara on July 5, 2022, took place today at the Ankara 52nd Criminal Court of First Instance. The court acquitted the LGBTI+ activists on trial.
On July 5, 2022, despite all bans, Islamist groups attempted to attack LGBTI+ participants in the 2nd Ankara Pride March, and the police detained 42 LGBTI+ activists.
The hearing was attended by representatives from the Red Umbrella Association, UniKuir Association, Ankara Bar Association Women's Rights Centre, Ankara Bar Association LGBTI+ Rights Center, Human Rights Association, and lawyers from Toplumsal Hukuk (Social Law). Riot police were present in front of the courtroom during the hearing.
Lawyer İlayda Doğa Karaman, who followed the case, asked the court to remove the police officers from in front of the courtroom at the beginning of the hearing. Karaman stated:
“Right now, there is an intervention against the right to defense. This is police harassment. What is the purpose of the security branch following the hearing?”
The police officers were removed from in front of the court gate with the intervention of the lawyers.
In its final opinion, the prosecutor’s office stated that there were no announcements made by the police against LGBTI+ activists in the video recordings included in the file and demanded the acquittal of the defendants.
The court subsequently acquitted the LGBTI+ activists.
What happened?
The police, who allowed anti-LGBTI+ Islamist groups to make hate and lynch calls at Hacı Bayram Mosque and Kuğulu Park, had attacked 2nd Ankara Pride March held on July 5, in 2022. 42 LGBTI+ activists were detained by the police.
Ankara Pride March Committee had drawn attention to the extent of the violence they were subjected to by making a press conference regarding the attacks by police and gang members at the Human Rights Association Ankara Branch on the day of the march.
“The attackers were not only the police. Some fascist groups also attacked the participants of the pride march by saying Allahuekber under the police protection, while our friends were being detained. Our lawyers were subjected to police attack when they went to hospital to follow the detainees. We were able to make our statements and the streets echoed with our slogans despite all the efforts for prevention and the police attack.”
A lawsuit was brought against people detained during Ankara Pride March, subjected to an intense police attack. 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”. On the other hand, the prosecutor confessed blacklisting by stating that one of the persons 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”.
CLICK- Ankara Pride case begins!
The first trial of the case was heard on May 11, in 2022.
The defendants stated that they had "exercised their constitutional rights and were still detained under police torture." The first hearing of the case was adjourned to June 22 without a verdict. On June 22, the second hearing was attended by Kaos GL, Pink Life, UniKuir, 17 May Association, Rainbow Families Association (GALADER), and the Human Rights Association (İHD) Ankara Branch, along with representatives from international non-governmental organizations.
The third hearing of the case was held on September 28. During this hearing, the defendants reiterated that they had exercised their right to assembly and demonstration and that the police had attacked them despite this. The fourth hearing of the case was adjourned to November 15. Journalists Aslı Alpar and Emel Vural were heard as witnesses.
Tags: human rights
