26/09/2022 | Writer: Selma Koçak
The case, in which seven people taken into custody on 2021 İstanbul LGBTI+ Pride March day are being judged, is postponed to January 13, 2023, at 14.30 pm. Video recordings during detention will be sent to a legal expert.
Six separate files were suited against 2021 İstanbul LGBTI+ Pride Week, which was casted a cloud on by bans and police attacks, till now. While three of these cases were resulted in acquittal, the other three are going on.
Second trial of the case, which was brought against 7 LGBT+ right defenders, who were taken into custody at the Pride March by police torture in Cihangir, was heard today (September 21) at 18th Court of First Instance.
Witness: Police didn’t give warning, didn’t provide a corridor
The trial began by listening the cousin of a defendant as a witness. The witness told that their cousin had been taken into custody while they were in a cafe, and the police had been detaining people around arbitrarily and randomly.
Reminding the witness that police had to give warning three times Att. Sevda Bayram asked: “Was there any warning, did the police make a warning announcement?” The witness said that there had not been anything like this, the police had not made an announcement three times and they had not provided a corridor in order to make people to go away. Then the witness left the hall.
Att. Bayram said that the video recordings demanded at the previous hearing were attached to the file and added:
“It is obviously seen in the video recordings that the police is taking into custody by dragging people kicking and screaming and using violence. Moreover it is also seen that the police didn’t make a warning announcement and didn’t provide a corridor in order to make people go away. They made detentions by following these people whole day.”
Att. Bayram demanded acquittal immediately by watching the video recordings at the court together if necessary, before sending them to a legal expert. The court rejected the demand and decided to send the recordings to a legal expert. The case was postponed to January 13, 2022, at 14.30 pm.
The aftermath of 2021 İstanbul Pride Week: Police attack was not enough, either, files were also suited!
Six files were suited separately against 39 people, including 2 children, who were taken into custody at 2021 İstanbul Pride March which was overshadowed by police torture, and one people on the grounds of participating in the picnic organized in Maçka: Police torture doesn’t take place at the indictments, cutting down the public support is the aim of the separate files.
“They want to minimize the public support by filing 6 separate suits”
Lawyer Umut Rojda Yıldırım, Coordinator of Access to Law and Justice at Association of Social Policies, Gender Identity and Orientation Studies (SPoD) and volunteer of 2021 LGBTI+ Pride Parade, evaluated the cases for KaosGL.org:
“Unfortunately the lawsuits, against people who want to exercise their fundamental rights and freedom at Pride March, has become a standard fare.” underlining the 6 separate lawsuits was a conscious choice, unlike previous years:
“Suiting separate files for the people taken into custody within the context of the same activity, is a conscious choice. They aim to complicate to monitor the cases and minimize the public support by dividing the files instead of combining them. There is no legal explanation for this attitude else than isolate them.”
What does it have to do with prosecutors of terror?
Lawyer Yıldırım says that conducting the investigations through the prosecutors of terror and organized crimes is also conscious.
“Conducting an investigation of a case opposing to Law on Meetings and Demonstrations No 2911, through prosecutors of terror is incredible and unbelievable. They restricted our, that is to say lawyers, access to the files by doing so.”
“Fundamental rights and freedoms of LGBTI+s are violated”
Reminding the police attack all across in Beyoğlu, Yıldırım finally said: “These cases are, themselves, violation of fundamental rights and freedom while LGBTI+s were taken into custody far and near by the police using physical violence and in an unlawful way. We are tired of repeating that holding meetings and demonstrations is a constitutional right. However, the detention of people from a march where they were not even allowed to disperse and the cases following it, have not come to a close.”
What happened at 2021 Pride March?
A call to meeting was made for 19th LGBTİ+ Pride March on June 26, at 17.00 pm. Following the threatening of Adalar Security, 30-day activity ban of Şişli Governor’s Office, picnic ban and police attack in Maçka, the pride march was also banned. Beyoğlu Governor’s Office banned the Pride March under cover of: “national security, public order, prevention of commission of crime, protection of public health, and public morals or the rights and freedoms of others.”
LGBTİ+ Pride March overcame the ban of Beyoğlu Governor’s Office and the police violence and Beyoğlu streets echoed with the slogans: “We don’t keep quiet, we are not afraid, we don’t obey.”
Police attacked to Mis Street even before the march began. Press statement was issued in Odakule. Then the press statement was reread in Tünel. LGBTI+s walked to Cihangir from Tünel. Police attacked again. LGBTI+s swarmed in Cezayir Street once again. Police attack went on here as well. LGBTİ+s shouted “We are here, get used to it, we are not going anywhere!” just to spite ongoing police attacks day long.
Tags: human rights
