Turkish police detained at least 50 people on Sunday after the LGBT community in Istanbul organized its annual pride march, Reuters reported.

The government led by President Tayyip Erdogan and his Islamist Justice and Development Party has stepped up its crackdown on LGBTQ+ freedoms.

Speaking after his victory in the presidential election, Erdogan accused opposition parties of “LGBT bias.”

On Sunday, the police blocked access to Istiklal Boulevard, the traditional site of pride events, as well as to Taksim Square. Nearby streets were closed, and public transport in the area was suspended.

On Sunday afternoon, hundreds of people with rainbow flags gathered in Mystic Park in the Sisli district.

During the reading of the statement by the organizers on the occasion of Pride Week, slogans sounded. A large rainbow flag was hung in the nearby multi-story parking lot.

According to the organizers, the police detained more than 50 people after the march. Amnesty International’s office in Turkey said at least one person suffered a head injury during police detention.

“We do not accept this politics of hatred and denial,” said the organizers of Istanbul’s LGBTI+ Pride Week.

In the country’s third-largest city, Izmir, police detained at least 44 people on Sunday after authorities banned a pride march, organizers said.

Homosexuality is not a crime in Turkey, but hostility toward it is widespread, and police crackdowns on pride parades have gotten tougher over the years.