After Turkish police raided one of the country’s top public universities for members of the LGBT community, they arrested dozens of participants in the “pride parade” and detained all participants.
Riot police entered “Bosphorus” University and surrounded dozens of students waving rainbow flags and calling for tolerance, according to the Associated Press.
The agency added that police took the students on buses with their hands tied behind their backs and a group tried to resist the arrest.
The conservative government, led by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has banned LGBT pride rallies since 2015, citing security concerns and “public sensitivities.”
Tensions have risen at the university after a month of protests after a poster depicting the Kaaba with LGBT flags appeared at a campus exhibition.
At the time, the Turkish Interior Minister described the students in question as “LGBT perverts”, and two of them were arrested on charges of inciting hatred and insulting religious values.
It is noteworthy that in January 2021, university students and staff protested the appointment of the university dean of the rectorate and demanded that this position be filled by academics chosen by faculty members.
Source: Associated Press
Source: Arabic RT
