Pride Istanbul 2026: 50 Arrests Despite Ban

Police Operation with Plainclothes Officers

Among those arrested was also a journalist, the organizers said. Even though she had identified herself as a journalist on multiple occasions, Müberra Ünsal was taken into custody, the Turkish journalists' union announced on X. A police statement on the allegations was not initially available.

The organizers stated that queer people cannot be silenced with bans. They would continue to advocate for the rights of gay, bisexual, trans, and queer people. The English abbreviation LGBTQ stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer.

Background: Suppression Since 2015

Since 2015, the annual Pride Parade has been systematically banned and suppressed. This year as well, the responsible district administration of Kadiköy prohibited the event citing reasons of public order and security. Homosexuality is not illegal in Turkey, but conservative President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan regularly pillories the LGBTQ community. Among other things, he holds it responsible for the country's declining birth rate.

The day before, Turkish authorities had ordered the closure of a gay bar in Istanbul for unspecified violations. The Istanbul Bar Association unrolled a banner at its headquarters on the central Istiklal Avenue reading "LGBT is a human right." In doing so, the lawyers' organization showed solidarity with the banned parade and set a signal against restrictions on freedom of assembly.

Solidarity from the Bar Association

International human rights organizations had called in advance for the demonstration to be authorized and pointed to the repeated restrictions on freedom of assembly in Turkey. The arrest of a journalist is likely to further intensify the debate about press freedom, especially since Turkey has ranked among the lowest places in international rankings on media freedom for years.

This news was broadcast on June 28, 2026 on the Deutschlandfunk program. Observers expect that those arrested will be released within the next few hours, as has often been the case in similar operations in previous years. The organizers announced that they would stick to their plans for further actions.