At least ten people, including Niha+ editor Doğa Tekneci and journalist Yusuf Çelik, who were covering the 12th Trans Pride March, were detained.
Our editor Doğa Tekneci and journalist Yusuf Çelik, who were covering the 12th Trans Pride March in Kalamış, Kadıköy, Istanbul, organized by Istanbul Trans Pride Week, were detained. It was reported that at least 10 people were taken into custody by the police.
Despite the bans imposed by the Istanbul Governorship the previous day, human rights advocates gathered and marched with a banner reading “We will be like the Poyraz [North] wind blowing from Deniz to Arya”, commemorating the murdered trans individuals. Throughout the march, participants chanted the slogan “The transphobic state will surely fall”.
Following the march, the dispersing crowd was subjected to identity checks by law enforcement. At least ten people, including our editor Doğa Tekneci and journalist Yusuf Çelik, who were covering the event, were detained.
District Governor’s Office Issues Ban on Events
Meanwhile, the Kadıköy District Governor’s Office issued a statement announcing that all meetings, marches, press conferences, sit-ins, setting up stands, erecting tents, distributing leaflets, protests, and similar actions/events are prohibited in all open areas within the Kadıköy district between 00:01 and 23:59 on Sunday, June 21st, in relation to the events announced on social media under the title “Pride Takvimi Yayında” [Pride Calendar on Air].
The District Governor’s Office based its justification for the ban on Article 17 of Law No. 2911 on Meetings and Demonstrations and Article 32/ç of Law No. 5442 on Provincial Administration. The statement argued that, based on social media posts, the event is “contrary to general morality,” “could cause public outrage,” “could offend national, conscientious, and humanitarian values,” and “could threaten social peace.”
The district governor’s office also claimed that “verbal and physical provocations” could occur between those organizing the events and citizens.
Statement from DİSK Basın-İş
Press division of the Confederation of Progressive Unions of Turkey, DİSK Basın-İş, stated that the detention of journalists Doğa Tekneci and Yusuf Çelik is a form of pressure directed at the public’s right to information and the visibility of LGBT+ individuals, and demanded their immediate release.
