(Social media photo by Bigstock)
A Turkish court acquitted 19 people Oct. 8 who faced charges over their participation in a Pride march.
Police in Ankara, the Turkish capital, on May 10, 2019, arrested 18 students and one academic who participated in a Pride march at Middle East Technical University. The 19 defendants—who were charged with “participating in an unlawful assembly” and “failing to disperse despite being warned”—faced up to three years in prison.
“We would like to point out that from the very beginning, there should have been no trial at all, and now, with this precedent, we will continue to raise the LGBTI+ struggle,” said Özgür Gür, a member of ÜniKuir, a Turkish LGBTQ rights group, in a press release that ILGA-Europe issued.
Gür is one of the activists who was acquitted.
“We thank everyone for their support,” said Gür.
Stefan Simanowitz of Amnesty International in a tweet described the acquittal as “a victory for justice.”
BREAKING: All #Pride march defendants have been acquitted
This verdict is a victory for justice, but this protracted legal battle should never have happened
Today we take a moment to rejoice
Tomorrow we will continue the struggle to end the crackdown on human rights in Turkey. pic.twitter.com/K39ifk2fmb
— Stefan Simanowitz (@StefSimanowitz) October 8, 2021
The U.S. and other countries in recent years have criticized Turkish authorities over their crackdown of LGBTQ advocacy efforts in the country.
ILGA-Europe in its press release notes Ankara authorities in 2017 “banned all LGBTI+ activities under a state of emergency,” but they lifted it in February 2019. Police in Istanbul in June used tear gas and physical force against participants of a Pride march that local authorities had banned.
