Turkish police on Sunday forcibly intervened in a Pride march in Istanbul, detaining dozens of demonstrators and an AFP photographer, AFP journalists on the ground said. The governor’s office had banned the march around Taksim Square in the heart of Istanbul but protesters gathered nearby under heavy police presence earlier than scheduled. Police detained protesters, loading them into buses. AFP journalists saw four buses full of people who had been held, including AFP’s chief photographer Bulent Kilic, who had been handcuffed from the back. Kilic, who was also detained last year during the Pride march, was in police custody. Hundreds of protesters carrying rainbow flags pressed ahead with the rally in defiance of police. “The future is queer,” they chanted. “We are here. We are queer. We are not going anywhere.” Kaos GL Association, which campaigns to promote the human rights of LGBTQ people against discrimination, said on Twitter police detained at least 52 Pride participants and LGBTQ activists. “All those detained solely for their participation in Pride must be released immediately and unconditionally,” Milena Buyum of Amnesty International said. Diren, a 22-year-old university student, condemned the hate crimes targeting LGBTQ people. “We are banned, prevented, discriminated and even killed at every second of our lives. Today, it’s a very special day for us to defend our rights and to say that we do exist,” Diren told AFP.