22/06/2025 | Writer: Kaos GL
Şişli District Governor's Office banned the Trans Pride March, police blocked off Taksim, and trans people gathered and marched in Kadıköy Acıbadem. After the march, police violently detained 46 activists.
Photo by: Sendika.org
The Trans Pride March, held with the theme of “Revolt,” took to the streets of Istanbul. Despite all attempts at obstruction, Trans+ rights defenders marched in Acıbadem.
Despite heavy police presence across the city, trans people and trans rights defenders gathered in Acıbadem and marched with a banner reading “Revolt/Serhildan” and trans flags.
After the march, police violently attacked the protests. Police detained 46 trans rights defenders around the city, most of them from the protest area. According to Sendika.org, police confiscated the banner and surrounded the area where the march took place with patrol vehicles. DEM Party MPs Kezban Konukçu and Özgül Saki reacted to the detentions.
The Trans Pride March was dedicated to trans people whose lives were taken and to Sırrı Süreyya Önder
In the press statement that could not be read during the Trans Pride March, it was stated that the march was dedicated to DEM Party Member of Parliament Sırrı Süreyya Önder, who passed away in recent months.
The statement said, “We dedicate our march to trans people whose lives have been taken by the state’s mechanisms that drive them to suicide, and to the dove of peace Sırrı Süreyya, who has always stood by our side.”
The statement also included the following:
“We are holding the 11th Trans+ Pride March in Kadıköy with the theme of ‘Revolt.’ We are here to strengthen our existence, our memory, and our faith in each other. We grew our march, which you tried to block last year, through resistance against oppression. Today, our presence in the streets is a declaration that we will not surrender to your obstacles against our mass mobilization. In 2023, after a six-year break, we held the glorious 9th Trans Pride March on June 18, Trans Equality Day, and this year we are once again in the streets. We have never surrendered to you, and we never will.”
The District Governor’s Office and the Governorship imposed a ban, and the metro was also shut down
Before the march, Şişli District Governor’s Office announced that all kinds of demonstrations and events in both open and closed areas within the district boundaries were banned.
In addition to this ban, the Istanbul Governorship announced that many locations in Beyoğlu, including Taksim Square, were closed off with police barriers, and some metro lines were shut down. According to the decision by the Istanbul Governorship, until further notice, the M2 Yenikapı-Hacıosman Metro Line’s Taksim station, Şişhane station, İstiklal Street and Refik Saydam entrance, as well as the F1 Taksim-Kabataş Funicular Line, were closed to service. Trains passed through Taksim station without stopping and continued their routes.
Human Rights Association (IHD) and Istanbul Bar Association took action against human rights violations
Istanbul Branch of Human Rights Association (IHD) published a contact number against potential human rights violations during the march:
“The meeting and demonstration march planned to be held as part of the 11th Trans Pride Week has been banned by the unlawful decision of Şişli District Governor’s Office and Istanbul Governorship.
This ban violates Article 34 of the Constitution, which states: ‘Everyone has the right to organize unarmed and peaceful meetings and demonstration marches without prior permission.’ With this ban, LGBTI+ people have once again been categorically excluded from exercising their right to assembly and demonstration.
We demand an end to the pressures on LGBTI+ citizens and the immediate removal of bans on Pride Marches.”
Istanbul Bar Association also expressed its readiness to provide legal support against possible human rights violations, stating “Istanbul Bar Association is by your side” and said:
“All our citizens can contact our Bar Association today for legal support in any social incidents that may occur within the scope of the Pride March.”
In addition, Istanbul Bar Association made a detailed statement saying, “Pride marches are a constitutional right and cannot be prevented.”
Detentions before the march begins
Before the march to be held in Acıbadem, police detained three trans rights defenders in Kadıköy. The police conducted a "general information gathering" (GBT) operation on the streets of Kadıköy and detained three people. Four people were also detained from Beyoğlu district.
Trans Pride Week began at the Bosphorus Bridge
Trans Pride Week, held from June 16 to 22, began last week with the projection of the phrase “Silence, we are coming” onto the Bosphorus Bridge. Trans activists used the message projected on the bridge to call for the week’s events.
Three days before it started, Meta also shut down the Trans Pride Week’s Instagram account. The events were announced through a new account.
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