Turkish authorities launch anti-LGBTQ raids, detaining dozens
Turkish police carried out coordinated raids on LGBTQ venues, organisations and private residences across several major cities, detaining at least 63 people, officials said. Authorities said the nationwide operation targeted members of LGBTQ rights and HIV awareness groups and followed recent blocking of those organisations' websites.
Why It Matters
The actions represent a notable escalation in state measures against LGBTQ groups in Turkiye, targeting civil society organisations and drawing condemnation from rights advocates and an EU rapporteur. The sweeping nature of the raids and the scale of the investigation signal an intensified government push framed around family and population policy.
Key Facts
- Detentions: At least 63 people detained (prosecutors quoted by Anadolu; reported by AFP).
- Scope of investigation: Prosecutors opened probes into 162 suspects, nine associations and 13 businesses (Justice Minister Akin Gurlek).
- Cities targeted: Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir and Mersin.
- Groups targeted: Current and former members of LGBTQ rights and HIV awareness organisations.
- Organisation affected: Kaos GL said nearly 50 LGBTQ rights defenders have been taken into custody or face legal proceedings.
Turkish police conducted coordinated raids on Sunday across multiple cities, searching gay bars, offices and activists' homes and detaining dozens of people, state-linked reporting shows. Prosecutors in Ankara, Istanbul and Izmir told state media at least 63 individuals were taken into custody, a figure also reported by AFP.
Justice Minister Akin Gurlek described the operation, named "My Family is Safe," as part of efforts to "protect children, the institution of the family, and public order," saying prosecutors had launched investigations into 162 suspects plus nine associations and 13 businesses. Officials linked the actions to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s 10-year "Decade of Family and Population" executive order aimed at addressing Turkiye’s declining birthrate.
Authorities focused on current and former members of several LGBTQ rights and HIV awareness groups; several organisations' websites were blocked in the days before the raids. Kaos GL, whose offices were searched, reported that nearly 50 people defending LGBTQ rights have been detained or are subject to interrogations and other legal proceedings. Judicial authorities in Ankara accused Kaos GL of publishing material they described as obscene and accessible to children.
Rights groups and some international observers denounced the raids. The Turkish Human Rights Association called the operation state-led discrimination and an attack on civil society, while the European Parliament’s rapporteur on Turkiye, Nacho Sanchez Amor, described the detentions as a sharp escalation in repression. The raids come amid a longer record of restrictions on LGBTQ activities in Turkiye; the ruling AK Party banned Istanbul Pride in 2015 and authorities have repeatedly dispersed attempted gatherings since then.
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