More than 100 activists were detained briefly in Istanbul on June 25, for participating in a LGBTQ pride march in the city. The government of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Justice and Development Party (AKP) has been accused of pursuing anti-LGBTQ politics and promoting social conservatism

The bill that seeks to ban pride marches was introduced in parliament after receiving over 140,000 signatures through a process called the citizens’ initiative. It was spearheaded by right-wing activist Kaja Godek