With a high police presence, Turkish authorities prevented the 15th Gay Pride march from taking place in Istanbul on Sunday.
Citing concern for the "security of citizens and tourists" and "public order," the Istanbul governor's office on Saturday banned the parade on the city's popular Istiklal shopping mile.
Organizers from the LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and queer) community said they planned to gather in the centre of the city Sunday despite the ban, insisting they had a right to a "peaceful gathering."
The area around the central shopping street however was closed off, side streets were blocked, and police searched passers-by, according to a dpa reporter at the scene.
Activists reported being stopped, for example, for wearing rainbow T-shirts. The rainbow flag is a symbol of the LGBTQ movement.
Authorities deployed tear gas to disperse gatherers in a neighbourhood off of the Istiklal shopping mile.
Turkish Dogan news agency reported that 10 people were taken into police custody.
The Associated Press news agency said one of its photo journalists covering the event is being detained by police, although the AP said it was still trying to determine the reason. Video from the scene showed Bram Janssen being taken into a van by police officers.
This year's ban marks the third year in a row in which Istanbul authorities impeded the parade that concludes Istanbul's "Pride Week."
After the event grew in popularity and attendance over the previous decade, the governor of the city banned the parade in 2015, citing the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. When thousands set to the streets in defiance of the ban, police deployed water cannon and tear gas.
This year's parade fell on the same date as the conclusion of Ramadan.
Majority Muslim Turkey is among the few nations in the region in which homosexuality is not illegal. Yet, there have been increasingly more attacks against members of the gay community.
