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Istanbul Pride Week: Picnic couldn't be banned

From the Heybeli ban to the Maçka attack, the 29th Istanbul LGBTI+ Pride Week picnic

23/Jun/21

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Istanbul LGBTI+ Pride Week: Picnic couldn't be banned

The 29th Istanbul LGBTI+ Pride Week picnic, which was planned to be held in Heybeliada yesterday and moved to Maçka Park in Şişli after being banned by the Islands Police Department, has been banned in Şişli as well.

Şişli District Governorate banned all events that could be organised within the scope of Pride Week for 30 days on the pretext of “national security, public order, prevention of crime”.

LGBTI+s came together in Maçka Park, whose doors started to be held by the police around 15:30 and rainbow items were sought in the bags of the visitors.

At 16:30, the police said in a talk with the 29th Istanbul LGBTI+ Pride Week Committee that the event was banned, and that if the rainbow flags were not collected by their owners at the gathering place, they would be forcibly taken and only handed over at the exit of the park back to the owners.

Upon the removal of the flags, at 17:00, the police warned only the participants of the Pride Week picnic to comply with social distance measures and to spread to a wider area.

At 17:30, seeing one of the picnic participants raise a rainbow flag to take a photo, the police disturbed the picnic area again. They said that the picnic, which is planned to be finished at 19:00, should be finished at 18:00 or the community will be dispersed.

As of 18:30, the police entered the picnic area, which was spread over a wide area, in accordance with the social distance measures that the police had warned before, and asked LGBTI+s to leave the entire area. Police attacked the crowd after the picnic participants said that they would not leave unless the park was completely emptied.

Only some of the visitors who were still sitting in the park during the attack were driven to the gates to leave the park after the police surrounded LGBTI+s.

In the police attack, an activist from Boğaziçi University LGBTI+ Studies Club broke his arm, and another activist who was beaten and battered was detained. The detained activist was released after his statement around 23:30.