Turkish activists fear Erdoğan will further restrict LGBTQ, intersex rights
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Sunday won re-election. Erdoğan, a former Istanbul mayor who has governed Turkey since 2003, defeated Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu in the presidential election’s second round by a 52-48 percent margin.
The Associated Press notes Erdoğan will remain in office until at least 2028. Turkish authorities over the last decade have increasingly cracked down on LGBTQ and intersex activists in the country.
Police in 2015 used tear gas and water cannons against people who were about to participate in an Istanbul Pride march. Authorities in 2017 arrested nearly two dozen people who defied a ban on Pride events in the city.
Police in Ankara, the Turkish capital, on May 10, 2019, arrested 18 students and an academic who participated in a Pride march at the Middle East Technical University.
