04/12/2023 | Writer: Selma Koçak
“It is unclear how long the police waited for the demonstrators to disperse. There is no evidence that they insisted on not dispersing.”
The investigation into 46 people arrested during the 21st LGBTI+ Pride March earlier this year has resulted in a verdict not to prosecute.
According to T24’s Sibel Yükler’s report, the prosecutor’s office stated that it was unclear how long the police waited for the group to disperse after the warning and there was not enough evidence that the marchers insisted on dispersing.
An investigation has been launched against 46 people who were detained during the 21st LGBTI+ Pride March in Nişantaşı, Istanbul, on 25 June this year, following the ban decision of the Istanbul Governorship on the march, on charges of “taking part in unlawful, unarmed assemblies and marches and resist to disperse spontaneously despite being warned.”
CLICK - No charges brought against those detained during the Trans Pride March
Terrorism Bureau conducted the investigation and said “so-called pride march”
The Terrorism and Organized Crime Office of the İstanbul Chief Prosecutor’s Office announced that the investigation was initiated against 46 people on the grounds of making a press statement without permission in Şişli and unfurling a banner saying “Dönmeyiz, dönüyoruz, yine döneceğiz[1] – İstanbul Pride” (We are trans, we are transitioning, we will go on transitioning) during the so called “21. İstanbul LGBTI+ Pride March” organized by some formations such as “İstanbul Pride, LGBTI+ Assemblies, Peoples’ Democratic Congress (HDK) LGBTI+ Assemblies."
At the end of the investigation, the Public Prosecutor’s Office decided that there was insufficient evidence to bring public charges against 46 people.
[1] The word “dönme” was used pejoratively to insult trans women and later reclaimed by the Turkish queer movement as a counter strategy. The title here would be interpreted as “we have been and always will be this way.”
Tags: human rights
