28/06/2026 | Writer: Kaos GL
Despite bans imposed in Beyoğlu and Kadıköy, LGBTI+ people gathered for the 24th Istanbul Pride March and took to the streets chanting, “We are out, loud, and proud.” Police attacked the march and detained at least 65 people, including journalists.
Photo: ÜniKuir
The 24th Istanbul Pride March took place in Kadıköy’s Moda neighborhood, where LGBTI+ people gathered at different locations despite bans imposed in both Beyoğlu and Kadıköy. Police attacked the march and detained more than 65 people, using torture and ill-treatment during the arrests.
DEM Party Istanbul MP Özgül Saki and Workers’ Party of Türkiye (TİP) Istanbul MP Sera Kadıgil were also present to show solidarity with LGBTI+ people.
In a statement shared on its social media accounts, Istanbul Pride condemned the closure of large parts of the city with police barriers because of the Pride March.
“Today, the entire city was placed under siege simply because we were going to march. You think you can shut us out of public spaces and make us invisible. But neither our march, nor our organizing, nor our existence can be stopped. We are not strangers to this city; we are part of these streets, these squares, and this life. Public space belongs to all of us.”
The statement stressed that Pride has continued despite years of bans:
“We seeped through every crack in your bans, found one another, and strengthened our solidarity. The more you increased repression, the stronger our solidarity became; the more bans you imposed, the more new paths we created. As in the past, lubunyas, trans people, and women will continue to stand at the forefront of the struggle for freedom. Together, we will build a society where we are recognized as citizens and can live equally and freely.”
“We are not hidden; we are organized”
Referring to this year's Pride theme, Istanbul Pride stated:
“We are here without fear, without hiding, without surrendering. We are out, loud, and proud. We are not hidden; we are organized, we are together. You cannot silence our voices through repression or our slogans through bans. You cannot regulate our lives through your judicial packages, arbitrary bans, or politics of hatred.”
The statement also emphasized that anti-LGBTI+ policies target not only LGBTI+ people but all forms of social opposition:
“Today, feminists, workers, students, labor activists, democratic mass organizations, and comrades from different social movements are marching together in these streets. Because the path to freedom is built through the solidarity we create with one another.”
Drawing attention to the state's long-standing justifications for targeting LGBTI+ people, the statement continued:
“For years, the same excuses have been repeated: public morality, family, indecency... The words change, but the state's oppression of LGBTI+ people does not. While the state legitimizes male violence, police violence, and hatred, it targets our bodies, identities, and sexuality by labeling them ‘obscene’ and ‘indecent.’ Yet what is truly indecent is not our visible bodies, but repression, violence, and bans.”
“We are also marching for Yıldız Tar”
Istanbul Pride also highlighted violations of trans people's right to life:
“As trans people, we no longer want to be murdered. We want to live, to grow old, and to die of natural causes. This state owes us a life in safety.”
The statement commemorated Hande Kader, Okyanus Efe, Poyraz, Roşin Çiçek, Cindy Çağla, Ecem Seçkin, and all LGBTI+ people whose right to life has been taken away.
The press statement also referred to those detained during operations carried out ahead of the NATO Summit:
“Ahead of the NATO Summit, 178 people were unlawfully detained simply to intimidate all opposition. Among them is our comrade and journalist Yıldız Tar. Today, we are also marching for Yıldız, who has brought the rights violations we face to public attention.”
The statement further condemned restrictions on access to hormone treatment:
“Restrictions on hormone treatment, arbitrary barriers to gender-affirming healthcare, and the constant introduction of hate-driven legislative proposals are attempts to control our bodies and our lives. But neither our bodies, nor our organizing, nor our struggle can be controlled.”
Tags: human rights, media, lgbti
