12/05/2025 | Writer: Oğulcan Özgenç
The first hearing of the case took place on May 8. The defense attorneys stated that the records were not based on the truth and argued that the prosecution had lost its impartiality. The hearing was postponed to July 10.
Photo by: Tuğçe Yılmaz/bianet
The first hearing of the case in which 8 LGBTI+ activists are being tried for participating in the Istanbul Pride March on June 30 was held on May 8 at the 76th Criminal Court of First Instance of the Anadolu Courthouse.
In the indictment, the prosecution referred to it as the "so-called pride march" and requested the punishment of the LGBTI+ activists for "violating the law on meetings and demonstrations."
The hearing began with identity checks, and the defendants were heard first. The defendants emphasized in their statements that the police did not announce "disperse." They also stated that after the march ended, the police conducted identity checks in the side streets, followed by torture and detention. The defendants claimed that three minors, under the age of 18, were also tortured and detained, and they requested their acquittal.
"Police gathered people in the streets and falsely accused them of crimes"
In his defense, one of the defendants' lawyers, Eren Kutluk, stated that there was no unlawful action and said, "On the contrary, an unlawful intervention occurred, and at this stage, a case file has been opened. What should now happen is that all defendants should immediately be acquitted before proceeding to the next stages of the case."Another defense lawyer, Nazlı Yalçın, emphasized that the authorities were trying to criminalize the Pride March and stated:
"The police gathered people in the streets and falsely accused them of crimes. In this regard, we believe that the records kept in the case are not based on the truth. The indictment does not include any accusation regarding an order to 'disperse' or a ban."
"Prosecution has lost its impartiality"
Lawyer Abdullah İkbal Aslanbaş emphasized that the prosecution lost its impartiality by using the phrase "so-called pride march" in its indictment and made the following statement:"The prosecution has lost its impartiality by using the phrase 'so-called pride march'; it has attempted to criminalize LGBTI+ individuals. Three children were held in a way that violated the Child Protection Law, with their hands cuffed behind their backs. Even in the records, the detention process was falsely listed as occurring at 16:20. Two individuals were stopped under the pretext of an identity check and then detained."
The next hearing is on July 10
The defense attorneys stated that the prosecution's opinion was based on records that were contrary to the truth and requested more time to prepare their defense. The court accepted the lawyers' request for additional time to prepare their defense; the hearing was postponed to July 10, 2025, at 11:55.What happened?
The Istanbul LGBTI+ Pride Week Committee announced that a case had been filed against 8 LGBTI+ activists who participated in the 22nd Istanbul Pride March on June 30. In its statement, the Committee mentioned that the phrase "so-called pride march" was used in the indictment and that the case was filed on the grounds of "violating the Law on Meetings and Demonstrations No. 2911":"The state and legal system, which failed to find the murderer of Ahmet Yıldız, which referred to the murder of Hande Buse Şeker as a simple form of killing, which bans access to hormones, and which constantly targets LGBTI+ youth, never tires of filing lawsuits against us every year for 'participating in unlawful meetings and demonstrations.' After the 22nd Istanbul Pride March on June 30, 2024, 3 minors and 11 people were detained with their hands cuffed behind their backs and released after hours of questioning. We learned that the same day the state, which declared us an 'illegal group' in the banning decision, could not prevent our march despite its countless bans and resources, and instead filed a case against 8 people by calling our march a 'so-called pride march.'"
Tags: human rights, life
