Turkish court finds gov’t ban on Istanbul Feminist March unlawful

An Istanbul court canceled the decisions of the Istanbul Governor and Beyoğlu District Governor to prevent the Istanbul Feminist Night March on March 8, 2022, and to stop public transport services. The authorities implemented the same measures in consecutive years.

Friday March 22 2024 03:49 pm

Duvar English

Istanbul Regional Court of Appeals has canceled the decisions of the Istanbul Governor and Beyoğlu District Governor to prevent the Istanbul Feminist Night March on March 8, 2022, and to stop public transport services during the march upon the appeal of lawyer Esma Yaşar.

In its judgment, the court emphasized that the bans in question amounted to a "violation of the right to assembly and demonstration,” according to the reporting of the Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA).

The court stated, "Considering the definition, purpose, and nature of the right to organize meetings and marches, one of the important elements of this right is the freedom to choose the place or route of the meeting or demonstration march.”

The Turkish government has been implementing a ban on all marches to be organized in Istanbul’s historic Beyoğlu district, particularly in İstiklal Avenue and Taksim Square, and forcing protest organizers to gather in previously designated meeting areas, mostly outside the city center.

The court stated that the choice of the venue for the march should, as a rule, be at the discretion of the organizers and noted that "an abstract and categorical ban on the grounds that the preferred venue is not located in the previously designated meeting areas is unacceptable.”

The court committee underscored that the restriction would be a "disproportionate intervention" unless the existence of a compelling social need was demonstrated.

The court stated that the decision to ban the march at the preferred venue on the grounds that there was no other pre-determined meeting area in the Beyoğlu district was unlawful, without revealing "the existence of a real danger and the measures that could be taken" that would require the banning of the march.

Commenting on the decision, lawyer Yaşar said, "Similar decisions were taken to prevent meetings and demonstrations on dates such as May 1 and March 8. Upon this, we took the banning decisions and the decisions to prevent transport to the administrative court."

Yaşar stated that the Istanbul 2nd Administrative Court rejected the first lawsuit and that they took the case to the regional administrative court. The lawyer stated that the decision of the higher court "can be considered as a precedent" and emphasized that although the decision is retrospective, it is important in terms of violations of the right to assembly and demonstration in the future.

The Istanbul Governor’s Office took similar decisions against feminist marches in 2023 and 2024 as well.