Dozens of people have been detained in Turkey's largest city, Istanbul, and police blocked key parts of the city as the LGBTQ+ community attempted to hold a Pride parade.
Police inIstanbulon Sunday blocked attempts to hold a bannedLGBTQ+ Pridedemonstration, detaining more than 50 people who tried to march, according to activists and an opposition politician.
Istanbul Pride has been banned annually byTurkishauthorities since 2015, including this year.
The governor of Istanbul had earlier banned the LGBTQ+ community from holding a Pride Parade, saying it "undermines social peace, family structure, and moral values."
A strong police presence in key areas of the city prevented large gatherings. Officers were seen clashing with activists holding rainbow flags in the city center.
"The palace regime cannot maintain power by demonizing the LGBTQ community," Kezban Konukcu, a lawmaker from the opposition DEM Party who attended the march, said.
Homosexuality is not a crime in Turkey, but PresidentRecep Tayyip Erdoganhas adopted an increasingly harsh rhetoric against the LGBTQ+ community over the past decade.
In January, Erdogan declared 2025 the "Year of the Family," describing Turkey's declining birth rate as an existential threat and accusing the LGBTQ+ movement of threatening the traditional family.
"The primary goal of the gender neutralization policies, in which LGBT is used as a battering ram, is the family and the sanctity of the family institution," he said at the time.
Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have warned that the government's rhetoric and actions are creating a hostile environment for LGBTQ+ people, leading to increased discrimination and violence.