Turkish authorities have detained 26 people and searched the offices of six LGBTQ+ organisations in a nationwide crackdown that rights groups say reflects growing state pressure on the community.
The raids, conducted across 12 provinces, targeted 38 suspects over the weekend, according to the Istanbul chief prosecutor’s office. Authorities said they seized drugs, digital equipment, smuggled alcohol and a firearm during the operations.
The campaign, described by the government as an effort to protect “family values”, has been named “My Family is Safe.”
However, Kaos GL, an Ankara-based LGBTQ+ rights organisation, said at least 50 activists had been detained, including more than 10 people arrested during police raids on their homes. The group also said authorities had blocked access to dozens of websites and social-media accounts linked to LGBTQ+ organisations, activists and rights advocates.
The Turkish Human Rights Association condemned the operation, saying its stated purpose concealed a broader campaign of discrimination and intimidation.
“The real name of this operation is not ‘My Family is Safe’; it is state-led discrimination, politics of fear and the dismantling of civil society,” the organisation said in a post on X.
The prosecutor’s office alleged that evidence gathered during the investigation indicated that children and minors were being “inappropriately influenced” on matters relating to sexual orientation and gender identity.
Justice Minister Akin Gürlek said separate investigations coordinated by prosecutors in Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Aydın and Mersin involved judicial proceedings against 162 suspects, nine associations and 13 businesses across 15 provinces.
The latest raids come as President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s government promotes a “Decade of Family and Population”, an initiative focused on reversing Turkey’s declining birth rate and addressing its ageing population.
Rights organisations have accused the government of increasingly targeting LGBTQ+ people through hostile rhetoric, restrictions on public events and pressure on civil-society groups.
The crackdown follows a Pride demonstration in Izmir on June 27, where protesters holding rainbow flags faced riot police. LGBTQ+ Pride events have frequently faced restrictions or police intervention in Turkey in recent years.
