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Turkey cries 'LGBT propaganda' after official faces backlash for pedophilia tweet

Activists saw the tweet from the head of Turkish Red Crescent as targeting the LGBTI community and say such rhetoric puts it at greater risk.
Members of the LGBTQ+ community wave flags as they participate in a march during the Gay Pride parade in Istanbul, on June 30, 2019. - Turkish police on June 30 fired tear gas at gay rights groups and activists who defied authorities to march for the Istanbul pride parade, banned for the fifth year in a row. Thousands of people rallied close to the popular Istiklal Avenue and Taksim Square where organisers originally planned to hold the parade, an AFP correspondent said. (Photo by BULENT KILIC / AFP)

ISTANBUL — Turkey lashed out at “LGBT propaganda,” claiming it undermined free speech, and defended the head of the Turkish Red Crescent after the humanitarian organization’s international umbrella body said his comments violated its rules against homophobia.

Kerem Kinik, who also serves as one of five vice-presidents at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), appeared to equate homosexuality with pedophilia in a tweet he made Sunday, when the Turkish LGBTI community typically celebrates Pride Day.

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