18/07/2025 | Writer: Kaos GL
During the press statement held for IHD’s 39th anniversary, police did not allow the banner reading “We have stood against homophobia and transphobia for 39 years.” In response to the censorship, IHD members turned all placards upside down.
The Human Rights Association (IHD) held a press statement at Istanbul Sultanahmet Square on the occasion of its 39th anniversary.
The Istanbul Provincial Police Department did not allow the banner reading “We have stood against homophobia and transphobia for 39 years” to be displayed during the statement. In response, IHD members turned all placards upside down in protest.
IHD Co-Chair Eren Keskin reacted to the censorship by stating, “LGBTI+ rights are human rights.” Ümit Efe, Istanbul Representative of the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (TIHV), said, “We strongly condemn this attempt to render visibility impossible, this censorship.”
In its 39th anniversary press statement, IHD once again brought attention to human rights violations in Turkey. The association emphasized the ongoing pressure on the freedom of expression and association of LGBTI+ individuals.
Bans and pressure against LGBTI+ people are increasing
In its 39th anniversary statement, IHD criticized the recent rise in anti-LGBTI+ policies. The association underlined that bans, obstructions, and hate campaigns targeting the existence and right to organize of LGBTI+ individuals are a reflection of the government’s oppressive mindset.
The statement highlighted that bans on LGBTI+ marches and events are unconstitutional and violate human rights. The association emphasized that LGBTI+ individuals' rights to peaceful assembly, expression, and organization must be recognized:
“In recent times, there has unfortunately been a continuing increase in bans on the right to organize, gather, and demonstrate, as well as in violations against those seeking to exercise these rights. These violations have become more apparent during actions and events held by public sector workers concerning their economic and professional rights, protests by dismissed public employees demanding reinstatement, demonstrations by workers dismissed from their jobs seeking justice, environmental protests by communities resisting mining companies to protect their land and water, women's actions, events organized by opposition political parties, demonstrations by the Saturday Mothers, and solidarity actions with detained journalists. Additionally, statements targeting the existence of LGBTI+ individuals and policies and practices that suppress their rights to organize and demonstrate continue as a reflection of the government’s mentality.”
IHD also noted that restrictions on freedom of expression have increased alongside the pressure on LGBTI+ people. The association pointed out that the Anti-Terror Law has become a tool to suppress freedom of expression and called for the repeal of social media bans and RTUK censorship.
Human rights defenders cannot be silenced
IHD stated that judicial harassment of human rights defenders must end and reminded that Turkey should become a party to the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders. The association emphasized that defenders of LGBTI+ rights should also be protected within this scope.
“Glad that IHD exists”
Continuing its 39-year struggle for rights, IHD concluded its statement with the following words:
“On the 39th anniversary of IHD’s founding, we continue to insistently defend human rights, freedoms, and the Right to Peace; we say, ‘Glad that IHD exists.’ Human rights defenders have not been silenced and will not be silenced. Glad that IHD exists.”
Tags: human rights
