Türkiye: 53 Pride March participants must be acquitted and those arbitrarily detained must be released

Fifty-three people, including three activists who have been arbitrarily detained for more than a month, are due to stand trial in Türkiye tomorrow on charges related to June’s banned Istanbul LGBTI Pride march. Ahead of the start of the trial, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for Europe, Dinushika Dissanayake, said:

“These prosecutions mark an alarming escalation in the criminalization of LGBTI expression and peaceful assembly in Türkiye. Among the 53 people being prosecuted are six lawyers, three journalists as well as activists Hivda Selen and Sinem Çelebi who have been held in pre-trial detention since 30 June on baseless charges. A third activist, Doğan Nur, was held for a month but released last week.

“Istanbul Pride has been unlawfully banned by the authorities since 2015 in violation of the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and expression. The arrests and prosecutions related to this year’s Pride march is testament to the deepening crackdown on LGBTI people in Türkiye.”