Istanbul Police Use Tear Gas to Disperse Feminist March Participants - Reports

The Turkish police in the city of Istanbul used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the participants of the so-called Feminist Night march, dedicated to the International Women’s Day, local media have reported.

The participants of the march planned to carry out a demonstration in front of the French Cultural Center, located at the famous Istiklal Avenue, at 07:30 p.m. local time (16:30 GMT) on Friday, the T24 broadcaster reported.

The outlet continued by adding that before the beginning of the rally, the demonstrators had gathered along the streets near Istiklal and had begun shouting at the police.

The security forces subsequently called on the crowd to disperse and used tear gas and rubber bullets against the demonstrators, according to the outlet. The crowd then separated into three parts. Police moved some of the demonstrators to the Tasnim Square and blocked off others.

According to the broadcaster, the Feminist March has been held in Turkey on March 8 since 2003.