13/03/2026 | Writer: Kaos GL
The first hearing of the case filed over the 11th Trans Pride March in Istanbul was held over two days. Activists described the police torture they experienced during detention in court; the court postponed the trial to 9 October 2026.
Photo: Tuğçe Yılmaz/bianet
The first hearing of the case opened over the 11th Trans Pride March, held in Acıbadem on 22 June 2025 under the theme “Rebellion,” took place over two days at the Istanbul Anatolian Courthouse, 12th Criminal Court of First Instance.
Thirty-six people against whom the case was filed are being tried on the allegation of “violation of the law on meetings and demonstrations.”
At the hearing held on 10 March, a decision of compulsory appearance was issued for four people, including one lawyer, who did not attend the hearing. The ban on leaving the country imposed on three people was lifted. Requests to return some defendants’ confiscated phones and to remove unlawful evidence from the file, as well as a request to file a criminal complaint against police officers for torture and ill-treatment, were rejected.
Defendants described police torture
The hearing continued on 12 March. During the hearing, the judicial control measure in the form of a travel ban imposed on two rights defenders whose statements were taken was lifted.
At the hearing, which started with a delay of about half an hour, lawyers who had been with their clients in Acıbadem that day and who were also detained were tried alongside the rights defenders.
Rights defenders who gave statements during the hearing said that the police had not issued any warning telling them to “disperse,” that they had not insisted on refusing to disperse, and that they had not been aware of the ban decision issued by the Kadıköy District Governor’s Office. The rights defenders also stated that they had not carried the banners in question because the protest had not taken place.
Regarding the detention process, rights defenders stated that they were mostly put into civilian vehicles and kept in reverse handcuffs for approximately seven to eight hours. They said that they had asked the people in civilian clothes for police identification and wanted to know why they were stopped while walking on the street. The rights defenders stated that the police responded by saying, “We didn’t like your appearance” and/or “Your hair color is strange.”
The court postponed the hearing to 9 October 2026 at 10:30.
“The police detained our friends as if carrying out a witch hunt”
Some of the statements highlighted from the testimonies of the rights defenders on trial were as follows:
“The police asked me whether I was trans and whether I was ashamed of my family. I said I was not ashamed. A female lawyer who had been detained with us under torture was subjected to a strip search. I also asked for my handcuffs to be tightened from the front and not too tightly because my wrists had been cut. However, the police not only ignored my request but tightened them as much as possible and handcuffed me from behind again.”
“That day the Istanbul Police almost carried out a witch hunt, detaining our friends and people walking on the street. After seeing the police we immediately gathered and began walking by changing the route. While I was carrying a banner reading ‘Rebellion/Serhîldan,’ someone I thought was a plainclothes police officer started pulling me. While I was trying to protect my banner and myself, three or four people jumped on me and dragged me. The police got off me after members of parliament arrived. Then I was forced into a civilian vehicle and subjected to reverse handcuffing. We were also subjected to intense violence at the police station. Our trans women friends were kept together with men.”
“Participating in Trans Pride is not a crime; but in fact I was abducted by the police that day before even participating in the protest. If I had not been abducted, I would have held those banners.”
Source: bianet
Tags: human rights, life, lgbti
