The Gezi Park protests, which began in May 2013 and continued across Türkiye with millions of people having taken to the streets, are the most massive demonstrations in Türkiye's history. They also marked a turning point in the government’s restriction of the right to peaceful protest in the country.

Originally started to prevent the demolition of Taksim Gezi Park as part of the Taksim Pedestrianization Project and the reconstruction of the Artillery Barracks without a zoning permit, the protests quickly gained a mass character and spread across Türkiye when the tents of the protesters staying in the park were burned by the police. Following days, protestors witnessed unprecedented police violence and the number of protesters gradually increased. As of 2 June, the police withdrew from Gezi Park and the surrounding area, and these areas were occupied by protesters. However, police actions continued in other cities and elsewhere in Istanbul. On 16 June, police used violence to clear Gezi Park and its surroundings and dispersed the protesters. The protests continued in other areas in the following period but fizzled out in time. During the protests, which lasted for nearly three weeks, eight people were killed, one of them a police officer, and nearly 10,000 people were injured. Thousands were prosecuted.

Seven people accused of leading and financing the largely peaceful Gezi protests against the government's plan to demolish Gezi Park were acquitted in the subsequent trial, but later their acquittals were overturned and they were retried and arrested. Amnesty International has declared Osman Kavala, Mücella Yapıcı, Çiğdem Mater, Mine Özerden, Can Atalay, Tayfun Kahraman and Hakan Altınay, who have been imprisoned in this case, as prisoners of conscience.

On 1 May, 1976, Labour Day was celebrated for the first time on a massive scale in Türkiye. One year later, in 1977, an even larger celebration was organized and tens of thousands more people from various provinces gathered at the same place. During the gathering, gunshots were heard from nearby buildings. The crowd tried to flee in panic when police intervened with stun grenades and armoured vehicles. A large group who had turned towards Kazanci street, the nearest exit from the square, got stuck in front of a parked truck and many were crushed to death. This day, has come to be known as the Bloody May Day. No law enforcement or state official was ever brought to justice. Following the 1980 coup, 1 May, which had until then been an official holiday, was once again declared a working day.

In the three decades from 1979 to 2009, May Day gatherings remained banned in Taksim Square and thousands of people who wanted to celebrate there were detained and prosecuted on the spot. In 2009, the draft law to make 1 May a public holiday was passed in the parliament. Immediately afterwards, a group of 5,000 people marched to Taksim Square. In 2010, May Day was freely celebrated in Taksim Square for the first time in 32 years. However, this freedom of assembly lasted only three years. From 2013 on, the authorities banned protests in the area, regularly citing ongoing construction projects. Today, Taksim is still closed for May Day celebrations.

A protest was organized in Taksim Square against the ongoing construction of hydroelectric power plants (HEPPs) in the Black Sea region. Activists drew attention to the fact that villages were being evacuated and new projects proposed despite the court's decision to stay the execution. The protesters gathered at Taksim Tram stop and unfurled a banner reading “Water is a right and cannot be sold”. The group marched along Istiklal Street and ended the protest in front of Galatasaray High School.

Journalist Hrant Dink was assassinated on 19 January 2007 in front of the offices of the Armenian weekly Agos, of which he was the founder and editor-in-chief. On 20 January, a march started in front of Agos for the funeral ceremony. The cortège, which attracted hundreds of thousands of people, marched approximately 9km from Taksim, Unkapani and Aksaray to Yenikapi.

The perpetrators having criminal responsibility in Hrant Dink's assassination have not been exposed in full or brought to justice. Since then, Hrant Dink has been commemorated on every 19 January in Taksim and in front of the Sebat Apartment Building in Osmanbey, where the offices of Agos used to be located, with the participation of thousands of people. The symbol of the pigeon is often used in the commemoration events in reference to Hrant Dink's article “A pigeon-like unease of my spirit” published in the weekly newspaper shortly before he was murdered, in which he described living under constant threat.

In 1993, activists attempted to take over Istiklal Street for the first Pride March in Türkiye but were detained even before they could reach Istiklal. The LGBTI groups were able to hold their second Pride March on Istiklal Street in 2003. From then onwards, the Pride March gradually increased in magnificence every year, and spread to other cities. The most crowded one took place in Istanbul in 2014.

In 2015, Istanbul Pride March, which had been going on peacefully for 12 years, was banned by the Istanbul Governorate and police intervened for the first time. Since 2015, Pride March has continued to be organized every year in Istanbul and many other cities in Türkiye despite bans and police interventions.

In 2010, one week before the LGBTI Pride Week, the first Trans Pride Week and Trans Pride March was held in Istanbul “to draw attention to the discrimination and human rights violations by the state against transgender people.” In 2016, Trans Pride March which was peacefully held until then, was banned along with the LGBTI Pride March, and the participants faced police interventions. Both events have been prevented since 2017. Nevertheless, Trans Pride returned to the streets in June 2023.

Thousands of people, led by the Armenian Genocide Commemoration Platform, gathered in front of the French Consulate on Istiklal Avenue to commemorate the events of 1915 on its 100th anniversary. At the event, testimonies and stories of 1915 were shared. With Armenian songs playing from the speakers, photos of those who lost their lives in 1915 were laid on the ground and candles were lit. The participants voiced their demands for recognition and justice. Then, they sat on the floor and held a silent protest for one hour.

On 13 September 2022, Mahsa (Jina) Amini was arbitrarily detained by so-called morality police in Iran for not complying with discriminatory mandatory veiling laws. Eyewitnesses reported that Mahsa was severely beaten while inside the police vehicle. She was taken to the hospital a few hours later, but the violence left her in a coma and she died three days later at the age of 22. Mahsa's killing sparked months of protests in Iran.

Following Mahsa Amini's death, women around the world took to the streets in support. The protest of women who gathered in Taksim Square with messages of solidarity and demands for justice for Mahsa was prevented and blockaded by the police. Two women were detained.

On 3 June 2010, the Directorate of Telecommunications (TIB) banned access to IP addresses belonging to Google in Türkiye in order to block access to YouTube, despite having no authority to do so. As a result, several Google services became inaccessible. A group of academics, civil society representatives and internet users opposed to censorship established the “Uncensored Internet - Joint Platform Against Censorship on the Internet”. This platform organized a march to defend the right to freedom of expression and access to information and to oppose the use of Law No. 5651 for censorship purposes. On 17 July 2010, tens of thousands of internet users gathered in Taksim, “State Censorship Protects You from the Truth” banners were carried during the march.

In the following years, protests against censorship continued. In 2011, “Don't Touch My Internet” protests were simultaneously organized in 31 cities across Türkiye. The protests were levelling opposition against the “Safe Use of the Internet” draft prepared by the Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK). The most crowded of the simultaneous protests, organised by participants on Facebook and Twitter, was held on Istiklal Street in Taksim. Tens of thousands of people participated in the protest.

Thousands of people protested in Taksim against the raid by Israeli forces in international waters on the Mavi Marmara ship, which was carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza under the Israeli blockade, which had killed nine people. Mavi Marmara Protest was organized with the participation of thousands of people on the anniversary of the attack that took place on 31 May 2010. The protesters marched with Palestinian flags and called on Israel to end its occupation in the Palestinian territories.

“Conscientious objector” is a term used to describe a person who, for religious, political or intellectual reasons, refuses to serve in the military or to stand in any military hierarchy. In 2012, at the end of the Conscientious Objection Week events, 14 men and women publicly declared their conscientious objection after a march from Tunel Square at the south-western end of Istiklal Street to Taksim Square. Although some people supported the group with applause, there were also some who reacted negatively to the procession. When the reactions escalated, the police fulfilled its obligation to protect the protesters and took security measures. In their press statement, the protesters said, “The state was founded in and by war. Türkiye is the only one of the 47 members of the Council of Europe to ignore conscientious objection as a status; it inflicts civilian deaths on conscientious objectors and prosecutes and imprisons those who speak out for peace, using Article 318 for ‘alienating the public from military service’. That is why we are raising our voices against war: Living here, we are people who have experienced the cruelty of war in the deepest way.”

Starting in 2002, protests against the US intervention in Iraq were organized with wide participation in many cities during and after the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Supported by anti-war organizations, civil society organizations and political parties, the demonstrations continued for a long time in Istanbul and Ankara. The protests in Istanbul mainly took place in Taksim, Besiktas and Beyazit Square, the ones in Taksim Square were heavily attended by lawyers, students and anti-war activists.

In the face of these mass protests, the parliamentary vote on 1 March 2003 rejected a bill to use Türkiye, a NATO member, as a base for the war at the request of the United States of America.

The Council of Ministers’ decision to designate Emek Movie Theatre, one of the symbolic venues of Taksim opened in 1924, paving the way for its demolition, caused a great uproar in Türkiye. Protests were organized with the participation of a large number of artists. On 7 April 2013, hundreds of people attempting to enter Yesilcam Street, where the theatre is located, were stopped by the police. Some protesters were detained and prosecuted. They were later acquitted, but the historic theatre was completely demolished on 20 May 2013.

In 2015, the court issued a stay of execution on the construction of a shopping mall in the place of Emek Movie Theatre. As the construction continued despite the court decision, people gathered in front of Emek to protest the unlawful construction. The Grand Pera shopping mall, which in the end replaced Emek, opened in 2016. The theatre was moved to the 5th floor of Grand Pera, while stores were built where it used to be.

The first 8 March celebration in Taksim was held in 1992. The march was prevented by the police and women faced intervention and detention by the police. The next year, in 1993, women came together in an open-air event in Beyoglu with the slogan “No to Rape!” and more than 10,000 women joined the protest in 1997.

In 2003, the first Feminist Night March was organized in Taksim and since then, women have filled the streets of Taksim on every 8 March.

The first police action and intervention against the Feminist Night March took place in 2019. In that year, the roads leading to Taksim were blocked with police barricades. Starting in 2019, the ban on IWD protests in Taksim was gradually tightened with steps aimed at pushing women away from the area. For example, while women were allowed to gather in Siraselviler (a parallel street to Istiklal leading towards the sea) for a while after 2019, later this street was also closed, and then women were allowed to come together in a more contained area of Cihangir. Challenging all the bans and police violence, though, women continue holding Feminist Night Marches to celebrate IWD.

The then Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan held a rally in Hopa, Artvin province ahead of the general elections on 12 June 2011. On the same day, protesters, including retired teacher Metin Lokumcu, tried to make a press statement in Hopa Square to draw attention to the destruction of the natural landscape of the region due to construction of hydroelectric power plants (HEPPs) and the problems in tea agriculture.

During the protests, police dispersed the protesters with tear gas, injuring some with gas canisters. Metin Lokumcu collapsed due to the heavy use of tear gas and later died in Hopa State Hospital. There were protests following his death in Ankara and Istanbul. Protesters gathered in front of Galatasaray High School on Istiklal Street in Istanbul and marched to Taksim Square with banners and slogans.

The case against 13 police officers including Artvin Provincial Police Chief and Hopa District Police Chief regarding Metin Lokumcu's death could only be opened nine years and five months after the incident, and the prosecution is ongoing.

There were protests in Tunel Square against the death of 301 miners in a mine fire in Soma district of Manisa province. Answering the call of trade unions and civil society organizations, a large number of protesters gathered to demand that those responsible for the disaster be brought to justice. The riot police prevented the protesters who wanted to march in Istiklal Street. Law enforcement officials intervened by using water cannons and tear gas against the protesters and 39 people were detained during the action.

Saturday Mothers have gathered in Galatasaray Square every Saturday at 12.00 pm since 7 May, 1995. The reason of their weekly vigil is to ask for the fate of their loved ones who were forcibly disappeared, and to demand the prosecution of the perpetrators.

Prior to the 700th week of the sit-in, due to be held on 25 August 2018, Beyoglu District Governorate banned the. On the day, police arrived in Galatasaray Square with tear gas and shields, detaining at least 46 people including the relatives of the disappeared, human rights defenders, journalists and political party executives.

In 2023, the Constitutional Court ruled that the police intervention in the 700th weekly vigil of the Saturday Mothers/People violated the right to organize meetings and demonstrations. Following the decision, Saturday Mothers/People wanted to meet at the Galatasaray Square on 8 April 2023 to hold their vigil but, despite the Court's ruling, police intervened and detained relatives of the disappeared. Since then, Saturday Mothers/People continue coming to Galatasaray Square, which is now symbolically connected with their Saturday protests; yet the unlawful detentions against them also persist.

The F sit-ins have been organized since 2012 to draw attention to the situation of seriously ill detainees and prisoners and to ensure that they have proper access to healthcare. The protests were initially being organized in Galatasaray Square, but after the square was closed to protests, they have moved to the front of the Human Rights Association in Taksim.

Members of the DurDe Platform gathered in front of Galatasaray High School to protest against the refusal to allow asylum seekers fleeing the conflict in Syria to enter Türkiye. For a long time, Türkiye allowed Syrian asylum seekers’ to enter the country, but in 2015 it tightened border controls and started preventing entries to its territories. During the protest, it was emphasized that Syrian refugees should have equal rights with Turkish citizens and that refugees are not a mass that can be used for political ends.

On 24 February 2022, Russia's armed forces launched a large-scale invasion of Ukraine, leading to protests in Türkiye and across the world. Ukrainians, who are concerned about their loved ones and relatives back home, came together in front of the Russian Consulate in Istiklal Street with Ukrainian flags in their hands. Condemning the attacks, dozens of people opened banners and shouted slogans in Turkish, Ukrainian and English against Russia.

People gathered in front of the former Istanbul Bar Association building on Istiklal Street to protest the killing of former Diyarbakir Bar Association President Tahir Elçi while he was reading a press statement in front of the historic Four-Legged Minaret in Diyarbakir. The police used weapons against the group including rubber bullets, tear gas and water cannon. The police action stopped after some MPs joined the protest and the group dispersed after the press statement.

One of the protests against headscarf bans in Türkiye, which continued on various occasions for 20 years since the 1990s, was the protest against the application to the Council of State for banning the participation of veiled candidates in the 2011 Academic Staff and Graduate Studies Exam (ALES). Egitim-Is Union had filed a lawsuit with the Council of State for annulment and stay of execution on the grounds that the ALES fall semester guidelines did not include the statement that the exam would be invalid if taken with the head covered. The 8th Chamber of the Council of State agreed with the Union and decided to suspend the execution of the regulations which did not clearly set the headscarf ban during the exam. On 22 January, with the call of civil society organizations, university students gathered in Taksim to protest against Egitim-Is’s lawsuit and the Council of State's decision. Students gathered in Taksim Square with the banner “Throw away your glasses, Council of State, the headscarf is our real identity” and read a press statement demanding freedom for headscarves.

On 12 August 2016, the burnt body of Hande Kader, a 23-year-old transgender LGBTI rights activist, was found in a wooded area after she had not been heard from for one week. On 21 August, hundreds of people came together demanding justice for Hande Kader and marched from Tunel Square with banners reading Not one woman less!; Justice for Hande Kader, justice for everyone”. The police followed the march and prevented the protesters from reaching Galatasaray Square with barricades. Hande Kader continues to be remembered in the photo of her reacting to the police action during Istanbul Pride March, which was banned in 2015.

Unfortunately, there is no precise information about the first 25 November marches in Turkey. However, we do know that the march on 25 November has regularly taken place on Istiklal Street every year since 2006.

As a continuation of the process that began with the blockade of Taksim and the banning of Pride Marches and 8 March Feminist Night Marches, the 25 November marches also faced police blockades and interventions as of 2017. In the following years, 25 November marches continued to be accompanied by bans, obstacles, and police interventions.