Pride picnic at Istanbul University canceled after attack by Islamists

Islamists and nationalist groups on June 17 attacked a picnic that Istanbul University students wanted to organize as part of the LGBTI Pride week.

Duvar English

Islamist and nationalist groups on June 17 attacked a picnic which Istanbul University students wanted to hold on the Beyazıt Campus as part of the LGBTI Pride week activities. 

Hundreds of Islamists gathered in front of the campus and wanted to lynch the LGBTI students. The police intervened against the group who were chanting "Takbir, Allah-u Ekber" (Allah is the greatest).

Initially, the ruling Justice and Development Party's (AKP) Istanbul University Organization and ultranationalist Grey Wolves group targeted the picnic on social media. 

The group called İÜ ÜNİAK, affiliated with the AKP, issued a statement on Twitter, referring to the students who wanted to organize the picnic as a “perverted minority.”

Upon threats, Istanbul University Equality Society announced that they canceled the picnic to keep students safe. 

“Our event has been canceled due to the lynching of sharia mobs. If you are around Beyazıt, we recommend that you do not walk in large groups and leave the area safely,” the Equality Group said in a statement on Twitter. 

The ruling AKP got 53 percent of the votes in Istanbul's Fatih district, in which Beyazıt neighborhood is located, during the 2019 local elections.