Turkish authorities have banned an exhibition exploring the art and history of the country’s transgender community in what is a rare intervention at a gallery. The move comes as the government intensifies a crackdown on the LGBTQ+ community.

Depo Istanbul, a non-profit space that was established by the now-imprisoned philanthropist Osman Kavala, was forced by police to take down Turn and See Back: Revisiting Trans Revolutions in Turkey on 11 July. Officers delivered a notice from a district governor that alleged the show incited the public to hatred, according to organisers.

Turkey’s populist president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has appealed to his religious base in recent years by labelling the LGBTQ+ community “deviants” and withdrawing from a treaty against gender-based violence. His government has blocked Istanbul Pride since 2015 after it had become the largest LGBTQ+ march in the Muslim world, drawing tens of thousands of supporters. This year, the government described Pride participants as “illegal groups” to justify the prohibition.

...