14/11/2023 | Writer: Selma Koçak
The fourth hearing of the lawsuit brought against 42 people, who were detained by using violence last year during the 2nd Ankara Pride March will be held tomorrow at the 52nd Penal Court of First Instance.
The fourth hearing of the lawsuit brought against 42 people, who were detained by using violence last year during the 2nd Ankara Pride March will be held tomorrow (November 15) at the 52nd Penal Court of First Instance.
All human rights defenders are expected to attend tomorrow’s hearing in the case against 42 people detained on July 5th. The defendants and their lawyers, who were not heard at the hearing on 28 September, will be heard at the trial.
What happened at the 2nd Ankara Pride March?
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.
Kuğulu Park, where the 2nd Ankara Pride March was planned to be held, was encircled with police vehicles before the march. Journalists were driven apart forcibly from the area. And they kicked LGBTI+s out of the park by saying “We will not let the show.”
LGBTI+s brought about the Pride March against all the odds. The slogan “Despite hate, long live life” raised from the back streets of Tunalı Hilmi Avenue.
The police, who took an LGBTI+ activist into custody before the gathering began, detained 42 people by using overmuch tear gas. They practiced rear-handcuffing as a torture. The detainees were released after their testimonies were taken at the Police Department, in the early hours of July 6.
Emre Vural, journalist from Mezopotamya Agency, got maced in the face within the scope of the attacks, in which more than 20 LGBTI+ activists were taken into custody. The police also attacked Aslı Alpar, reporter of KaosGL.org, and injured their leg.
LGBTI+s marched through Tunalı Hilmi Avenue, with various small groups before the attacks. The police attacked and battered LGBTI+s in Bestekar Street and Kennedy Avenue. The press statement of Ankara Pride March was read by marching at Tunalı Hilmi Avenue. On the other side, anti-LGBTI+ religious groups also attempted to attack LGBTI+s.
Tags: human rights
