An image in which the Muslim Kaaba sanctuary was linked with the rainbow flag angered the Turkish authorities. The interior minister spoke of a “perverse LGB.”T representatives. “
Four people have been arrested in Turkey on charges of “denigrating Islam” after a picture showing the holiest site of Islam was hung together with a rainbow flag. The governor’s office of Istanbul said on Saturday that two more suspects are still being sought in connection with the “repulsive attack”.
Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu wrote on Twitter that “four abnormal LGBT” representatives had been arrested. LGBT stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender, the rainbow flag is a symbol of the LGBT movement. The objected work of art does not fall under the freedom of expression or the freedom of demonstration, wrote a spokesman for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. “This aberration will get the punishment it deserves under the law.”
The work of art with the Kaaba in Mecca and the rainbow flag was hung on Friday in front of the rectorate of Istanbul’s Bogazici University. Protesters have been protesting for weeks against Erdogan’s appointment of a former politician from the ruling AKP party as rector of the university.
In previous years, the Turkish university rectors were elected internally, but after the attempted coup in 2016 Erdogan secured access to the universities. At Bogazici University, where events are held in English, a strong left-wing student community has gathered over the years.
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