Turkish police on Tuesday broke up an LGBTQ+ Pride march in Ankara and briefly detained 42 people, according to a platform representing the activists.
Authorities had banned Pride marches in cities across the country for security reasons.
UniKuir, an Ankara-based group of LGBTQ+ activists, announced on Twitter on Wednesday morning that all 42 activists who were detained during the Pride march in Kuğulu Park in Ankara on Tuesday were released from police detention.
Son gruptaki arkadaşlarımızı da aldık!
2. Ankara Onur Yürüyüşü'nde gözaltına alınan 42 kişinin tamamı serbest kaldı.#AnkaraOnurYürüyüşü pic.twitter.com/YnlCgFOTAS
— ÜniKuir (@unikuir) July 6, 2022
Photos and video footage from the protest showed police officers using teargas and pepper spray to disperse the protestors. Some of the activists were dragged on the ground before being handcuffed and put on buses.
Last week in İstanbul police dispersed a larger annual Pride march and detained more than 300 people.
Thousands of people used to attend annual Pride marches on İstanbul’s main İstiklal Avenue, but in recent years the government led by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Islamist Justice and Development Party (AKP) has toughened its stance on gay rights.
Homosexuality is not a crime in Turkey, but hostility to it is widespread and police crackdowns on Pride parades have been increasingly tougher over the years.