Aussie Man Arrested After A Peaceful Pride March In Istanbul
Image: Protesters marched peacefully in Istanbul despite the Turkish government's ban. Image: Photo by Mine Toz / SOPA Images/Sipa USA
Dozens of people were arrested after Turkey’s annual Pride parade, with an Australian among them.
Members of the LGBT+ community had peacefully marched through the streets of Istanbul. However, the government had banned the parade and as a result, approximately 100 people were arrested.
The majority of the arrests made were citizens and later released from custody. Unfortunately, the authorities continued to detain 5 foreigners which included the Australian man.
Pride parade in Turkey ….
Everyone is arrested !😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/HDiNOjHnzl— Andrew Turek (@TurekAndrew) July 1, 2023
According to Yahoo News, a spokesperson for the Istanbul Pride Committee (IPC) spoke with the Australian man after his arrest. It’s believed that he has since been transferred from police custody to immigration detention before being moved to Erzurum.
The Department of Foreign Affairs told the publication that consular assistance to the Australian is being provided.
“Owing to our privacy obligations we are unable to provide further comment,” it said.
According to the IPC spokesperson, some of those who were arrested by the police weren’t even participating in the parade and were in the wrong place at the wrong time.
They made contact with the Australian as he was undergoing a health check due to feeling unwell.
“He wasn’t feeling so well. He said that he was already sick the day before and he needed medication for a stomach problem,” they said.
Turkey’s History With Homosexuality
Homosexuality in Turkey has been legal since the mid-1800s under the Ottoman Empire. While it was discouraged in public and the only legal recognition of marriage was a heterosexual one, in private it was allowed.
There have been public parades in Istanbul for two decades, however the government has crack down on the LGBT+ community after President Tayyip Erdogan’s rise to power in 2014.
Pride parades have been banned since 2015 but activists continue to march and ignore the government.
During his re-election campaign, Erdogan called the queer community as a “calamity that threatens the survival of our society.”
“LGBTI is a poison injected into the institution of the family. It is not possible for us to accept that poison,” he said.
