I was beaten up by Turkish police and jailed for 20 days because I ‘looked gay’

A tourist has told of his ordeal at the hands of Turkish police, who he said arrested him for ‘looking gay’ before reportedly detaining him for 20 days.

Miguel Alvaro, who is from Portugal, was on holiday alone in Istanbul on June 25 when he went to lunch with a friend and, unfamiliar with the city, asked officers for directions.

To his horror, the vacationer said he was surrounded by up to eight officers and immediately arrested, PinkNews reports.

“They grabbed my arms and I tried to free myself. One of them hit me in the ribs, they pushed me against a van, they hit me on the shoulder, which started to bleed,” he recalls.

Mr Alvaro, who is gay, was unaware that an unsanctioned Pride parade was going on nearby and faced a large police presence.

Mr Alvaro, who is gay, was unaware that an unsanctioned Pride parade was going on nearby, and he was met by a heavy police presence

“After five hours in the police van, during which I was only told to shut up and be quiet, one of them explained to me that he had been stopped because of my appearance,” he told Portuguese outlet P3.

“They thought I was going to join an unauthorized LGBTI+ march in the area because I looked gay. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time.’

He says he was held in a police van for 13 hours before being taken to a police station for processing, where he described maggots in the sheets and other grim conditions.

His hopes that he would be released soon after were quickly dashed. The ordeal did not end after his brutal arrest, but continued for weeks after he was transferred to an immigrant detention center.

He was driven 17 hours to the eastern border, he said, and was threatened by homophobic prisoners there for weeks.

He claimed that he was barely getting any water and hardly slept because he was so afraid of being attacked.

Police officers block protesters during the LGBTQ Pride March in Istanbul, Turkey, June 25

Members of the LGBTQ community come to the unauthorized Pride March in Istanbul on June 25

Protesters sit in front of police officers as members of Turkey’s LGBT+ community gather for a pride parade banned by local authorities

At least 149 people have been detained in Turkey after police violently disrupted Pride celebrations, according to the NGO Human Rights Watch

It wasn’t until July 12, 20 days after he was arrested, that Alvaro said he had finally been released.

He told PinkNews that he felt “disappointed, shattered and mentally exhausted, but relieved that he went to a safe place.”

He said he is now warning others about the realities of holidaying in Turkey, especially members of the LGBTQ+ community.

While it is not illegal to be gay in Turkey, the country has become an increasingly hostile place for LGBTQ people in recent years and has had a ban on Pride events since 2015.

Police were present in the capital and across the country as protesters took to the streets to celebrate in June. despite the ban.

At least 149 people have been detained in Turkey after police violently disrupted Pride celebrations, according to NGO Human Rights Watch.