Tear gas and arrests in pre-banned Pride parade in Istanbul

Police used tear gas at the previously banned Pride parade in Istanbul on Saturday to disperse peaceful demonstrators. That reports Reuters news agency. About twenty people have also been arrested, including a photographer from the AFP news agency. Reuters footage shows officers pushing and dragging protesters away from the parade.

It is not clear if and how many were injured. The Turkish branch of Reporters Without Borders has called for the release of AFP photographer Bulent Kilic, who was said to have only been there to cover the meeting. In recent years, the Pride parades in the Turkish metropolis have also ended with confrontations with the police and arrests.

Since 2003, a Pride procession has been organized every year in Istanbul. The largest edition took place in 2014, when some 80,000 people took to the streets to celebrate and speak out for the rights of LGBT people. However, since 2015, the parade has been banned year after year, according to Turkish authorities for security reasons. Interest groups, however, claim that the authorities are conducting a ‘hate campaign’ against LGBTI people and accuse them of inciting hatred against an already vulnerable group.