10/05/2023 | Writer: Yıldız Tar
The lawsuit brought against 42 people who were detained during Ankara Pride March will begin on May 11. According to the prosecutor, those who attacked LGBTI+s are citizens, Pride March is an “unlawful” act!
A lawsuit was brought against people detained during Ankara Pride March, 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 initially rejected, the prosecutor's objection was sustained, and the case began.
The activists detained by police using violence will be before the court on May 11 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 first trial of the case will be heard at Ankara 52th Penal Court of First Instance, on May 11, at 10.00 am.
From the indictment: “So-called Ankara Pride March”
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.
Pro-IBDA-C slogans were considered as citizen reaction
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”.
Pro-Great Eastern Islamic Raiders’ Front (IBDA-C), which is directly identified as a terrorist organization, slogans such as “Raiders are here, no passage for heresy” were also included in the indictment as “slogans of some citizens”.
“The police targets those, who seek their rights”
According to Abdullah İkbal Arslanbaş, a detained activist's lawyer, it is possible to find similar statements in police investigation reports and indictments within the scope of other cases.
Lawyer Arslanbaş described the attitude of the police in Ankara to KaosGL.org as follows:
“Police detain familiar faces, whom they know from other protests, more quickly. The police target those who take to the streets to seek their rights, and these people are subjected to ill-treatment. It is not a crime anyway, even if it is, the presumption of innocence is violated by this way.”
Stating that it is possible to realize the attitude of the police and the prosecutor towards LGBTI+ Pride March by checking both police investigation reports and the indictment, Att. Arslanbaş criticized the tolerance of the police for those who commit hate crimes, while they don’t respect the right to assembly of LGBTI+s.
“When we consider the slogans of the groups targeting LGBTI+s, which are also included in the indictment, we can join the dots. There is no action against the group chanting ‘Say stop to perverts’, ‘Soros’ blackguards cannot stop us’, ‘Muhammad’s army is the fear of fags’.”
Translation: Selma Koçak
Tags: human rights
