An Ankara appeals court has reversed a ban on LGBTI activities imposed by the Ankara Governor’s Office, the Diken news website reported on Friday.
The ban was put in place indefinitely in October 2017 during a two-year-long state of emergency declared in the aftermath of a coup attempt in July 2016.
The governor’s office prohibited LGBTI cinema and theater-related activities as well as panel discussions and exhibits in the capital city, citing security concerns and the risk of provocation due to “social sensitivities.”
Kaos GL, a human rights association, objected to the ban in an administrative court in Ankara, which rejected the case without hearing it.
The association then lodged an application with the appeals court, which ruled that the ban’s duration and scope were too ambiguous and that “if there is a threat to the activities, the authorities should provide the necessary security instead of banning them.”
On the other hand, another similar ban imposed by the governor’s office in October 2018 is still under judicial review.