Istanbul celebrates Pride despite ban and arrests
Organizers said they “changed continents” in response to the government crackdown.
July 1, 2024
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istanbul pride
A Ban and Rubber Bullets Didn't Stop Istanbul Pride
Around 1,000 people marched in the LGBT parade, which had been banned by authorities and faced a heavy police presence.
July 2, 2018
Istanbul Pride Broken Up With Plastic Bullets, Dogs
Pride parade organizers in Turkey say police prevented them from gathering and marching.
June 25, 2017
Almost 400 People Released After Arrests at Istanbul Pride March
Hundreds showed up to the march on Sunday even though it had been banned.
June 28, 2022
Turkish Officials Cancel Istanbul Pride Out of Fear for the Safety of Participants
Anti-LGBT groups have intimidated the government into canceling the event three years in a row.
June 24, 2017
Chilling Footage of Turkish Police Attacking LGBT People
Activists in Istanbul planned to hold the Pride march this weekend, but police fired rubber bullets and tear gas, and detained several people.
June 26, 2017
Police in Turkey Shoot Rubber Bullets, Tear Gas at Pride Marchers
Pride Parades have been banned in the city since 2015, but unofficial marches are still organized annually.
June 28, 2021
Human Rights Groups Ask Turkey to Drop Charges Against LGBTQ Activists
19 people were arrested during a police raid on a Pride march in Ankara.
November 9, 2019
WATCH: Istanbul Pride Revelers Attacked By Police
Police in the Turkish city turned water cannons at people celebrating Pride, and fired tear gas and rubber bullets at them.
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June 28, 2015
Trans Woman Brutally Murdered in Turkey
Hande Kader's death marks another tragedy for LGBT people in a country struggling to survive religious conservatives and an unstable political regime.
August 19, 2016
Gay Syrian Refugee Murdered in Turkey
Muhammad Wisam Sankari was beheaded and mutilated in Turkey, which has admitted many Syrian refugees but failed to protect the rights of LGBT ones.
August 4, 2016
WATCH: The Trans Reporter Changing Turkish Society
Michelle Demishevich is the most prominent transgender person in predominately-Muslim Turkey.
July 20, 2014
Judge in Turkey Rules That Participating in Pride Is Not a Crime
Almost 20 activists have been acquitted after being charged for participating in a Pride march at a local university in Ankara in 2019.
October 11, 2021
Pride Merchandise Made in Anti-LGBT Countries Sparks Outrage
Clothing retailer Primark is under fire for manufacturing its Pride line in countries that criminalize being gay.
June 13, 2018
When the beacon goes dark: How U.S. regression on social stances fuels global repression
Opinion: As the tides of global LGBTQ+ rights shift, the U.S. finds itself at a crossroads, raising critical questions about its moral leadership and the ramifications of its domestic choices on international equality movements.
July 20, 2025
PHOTOS: Pride Pops Up All Over Europe
In Turkey, Greece, Portugal, and Paris, we carry the message and have the world's biggest party.
June 23, 2014
9 Unexpected Places Where Pride Flags Flew in June
From small town America to Moscow, the LGBT pride flag made appearances in some awesome and unexpected places.
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June 30, 2014
Editorial: Is The Advocate Still Relevant?
Our editorial board on the future of The Advocate in a post-marriage world.
June 29, 2015
The Situation for LGBT Asylum Seekers Just Got Even More Dire
Even though courts initially froze Trump's "Muslim bans," his executive orders still slowed the U.S. resettlement of LGBT people fleeing violence. Now that the Supreme Court has partially reinstated the bans, things are getting really scary.
June 27, 2017
PHOTOS: LGBT International — Pride and Punishment
The international world showed off its pride this weekend. But that triggered hate and violence as well.
June 30, 2013
2016: The Year in Review
Everything that mattered, from odious Religious Freedom Restoration Acts, to queers marching in New York's St. Patrick's Day Parade, to the end of the ban on trans military service, to the massacre in Orlando -- and much more.
December 27, 2016