03/11/2023 | Writer: Gözde Demirbilek
The first hearing of the lawsuit filed against BEKSAV Cinema Collective members on the grounds of “coming together to watch the film ‘Pride’” was held today at the Kartal Courthouse.
The first hearing of the lawsuit filed against Science Education Esthetic Culture Art Researches Foundation (BEKSAV) Cinema Collective members on the grounds of “coming together to watch the film ‘Pride’” in Pride Month, was held yesterday (October 31) at the Anadolu Courthouse (Kartal), at the 45th Criminal Court of First Instance.
The first hearing of the lawsuit, in which 8 person are being charged on the grounds of violating Law No. 2911 on Meetings and Demonstrations, was followed by Association of Lawyers for Freedom (ÖHD) and Social Policies, Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation Studies Association (SPoD).
Rüşa Sabur, one of the directors of the BEKSAV Cultural Centre, described the police attack on the screening of the film as follows:
“When I arrived at the neighbourhood where the foundation is located at around 5pm, on the day of the film screening scheduled for 9pm, I saw that the street was blocked by around 200-300 policemen and that two of our friends were in dialogue with the policemen. I also intervened in the dialogue between the police officers and our friends. I explained to them that we were carrying out a cultural and artistic activity and pointed out that any kind of ban would be a violation of freedom of expression. About four hours before the beginning of the film screening, we and the people who were coming to the demonstration were blocked, we were surrounded without being aware of what was happening, this was in order to intimidate the people coming to the demonstration, we were arrested directly by force without any warning announcement. We were treated so unjustly that two of our friends were forced into a police van, had their T-shirts torn off and were tortured, even though we didn't march, make a statement or demonstrate.”
BEKSAV Executive Board member Mine Şirin also emphasized that the police had detained them under torture, without any prior announcement and with the use of disproportionate force. Şirin also called for an acquittal, saying that there was no action that could prove the legal elements of the alleged crime.
“A constitutional right cannot be the subject of such a decision”
Dılşah Taş, one of the lawyers of the defendants, stressed that the police should have given a warning and then a deadline for the people to disperse, but they directly arrested the people without even opening a corridor for them to disperse and said: “The ban decision of the district governorship is illegal, a constitutional right cannot be the subject of such a decision.”
Finally, lawyer Abdullah Bişaroğlu pointed to Constitutional Court rulings that justify the illegality of such ban orders issued by district governors and remarked that the defendants didn’t commit any illegal act and the offence did not occur according to its legal elements.
The case, in which 8 person are being charged on the grounds of violating Law No. 2911 on Meetings and Demonstrations, was postponed to January 24th, in 2024.
What had happened?
On June 7th, BEKSAV Cinema Collective had made a call for watching the movie “Pride”, which depicts a group of lesbian and gay activists who raised money to help families affected by the British miners' strike in 1984 and the solidarity between miners and queers in United Kingdom, within the scope of Pride Month events.
Following the ban decision on screening issued by the Kadıköy District Governorship, BEKSAV had announced that did not recognize the ban decision and called all moviegoers and LGBTI+s to the screenings. And at the end BEKSAV and Cinema Collective members and participants who came for the screening were detained. Following the police violence, the foundation had said “We defend the colors of the rainbow against the LGBTI+ hostility of the government.”
Translated by: Selma Koçak
Tags: human rights, arts and culture
