Urgent Action Victory! – Pride March No Longer at Risk (Turkey: UA 83.18)

The student-organized Pride march gathering hundreds of university students went ahead peacefully on 11 May on the Ankara-based Middle East Technical University (ODTÜ), despite attempts from the university and Ankara authorities to prevent it from taking place.

The annual student-organized Pride march took place on 11 May, on the Middle East Technical University (ODTÜ) campus in Ankara, the capital. Hundreds of demonstrators peacefully marched on the university campus, in defiance of the ban on all LGBTI events imposed by the governor of Ankara.

ODTÜ LGBTI Solidarity told Amnesty International they were very grateful for the organization’s support and action, and they shared the following message: “We could not stay silent and resign ourselves to the ban. We had to oppose it, we had to march. The ban on our pride march was illegal and it was against our existence. The reason we could resist the ban and move forward was the international support and solidarity by Amnesty International activists around the world. We could not have gone further without your support.”

Thank you to all those who sent appeals. No further action is requested from the UA network.

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