Turkey Escalates Crackdown on LGBTQ+ Groups

Turkish police arrested at least 162 people and searched six LGBTQ+ association offices during coordinated weekend raids conducted across 15 provinces. The operation, which involved prosecutors in Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Aydin and Mersin, also targeted gay bars, nightclubs and a hammam that authorities alleged was being used for prostitution. Officials said they seized drugs, digital equipment, smuggled alcohol and a gun, while launching judicial proceedings against 162 suspects, nine associations and 13 businesses. Justice Minister Akin Gurlek said the investigations were prompted by allegations of prostitution and obscenity. He framed the raids as part of the government's constitutional responsibility to protect families and children, arguing that criminal organizations, abuse networks and illegal activities targeting minors would not be tolerated. The Istanbul prosecutor's office also alleged that children and minors were being inappropriately influenced on matters related to sexual orientation and gender identity. LGBTQ+ rights organization Kaos GL disputed the government's justification and accused authorities of unfairly targeting the LGBTQ+ community. The group said access to dozens of websites and social-media accounts belonging to LGBTQ+ organizations and advocates had also been restricted. Same-sex relationships are legal in Turkey, but the community faces widespread homophobia and increasing repression under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The operation, named “My Family is Safe,” forms part of Erdogan's “Decade of Family and Population” campaign, which seeks to reverse Turkey's declining birthrate. The article argues that blaming LGBTQ+ people diverts attention from more complex structural causes, including inflation, high housing costs, inadequate childcare, family-unfriendly workplaces, and changing education and employment patterns among women. Turkey's total fertility rate fell from 2.11 in 2013 to 1.51 in 2023, according to TurkStat.

Turkish authorities launched coordinated early-morning raids against LGBTQ+ organizations, HIV-awareness groups, businesses and individuals in several major cities, detaining dozens of people and investigating 162 suspects, nine associations and 13 businesses. The raids began at approximately 1 a.m. Sunday in Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Aydin and Mersin. Police also entered association offices and popular LGBTQ+ venues, while the websites of the targeted organizations were blocked. Justice Minister Akin Gurlek said the investigation was intended to protect children, families and public order under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s 10-year executive order concerning families and children. Gurlek also accused the associations of receiving substantial funding from international sources and agencies. Authorities reportedly included current and former members of prominent LGBTQ+ rights and HIV-support organizations in the investigation. The Human Rights Association condemned the operation, calling it a political campaign designed to impose a single model of family life and eliminate LGBTQ+ groups and independent civil society. It said the use of accusations including forming a criminal organization, drugs, prostitution and obscenity appeared intended to criminalize the broader LGBTQ+ community rather than establish wrongdoing. The raids represent an escalation of Turkey’s decade-long pressure on LGBTQ+ people and organizations, particularly around elections. The governing, religiously conservative Justice and Development Party has increasingly opposed LGBTQ+ groups to appeal to conservative voters. Istanbul Pride was banned in 2015 after previously attracting tens of thousands of people, and subsequent attempts to hold Pride events have often been violently dispersed. More recently, Turkey refused permission for an LGBTQ+ cruise ship to dock. Although the Ottoman Empire decriminalized homosexuality in 1858, LGBTQ+ people continue to face significant social discrimination in modern Turkey.

Turkish authorities have detained at least 47 people in coordinated raids targeting LGBTQ+ associations and activists, according to prosecutors. The operations, conducted over the weekend in multiple provinces, are part of investigations into alleged prostitution and obscenity. Istanbul prosecutors said raids across 12 provinces targeted 38 suspects, with 26 people detained and drugs, digital equipment, smuggled alcohol and a firearm seized. Separately, Ankara prosecutors said 21 people were detained in an investigation involving the LGBTQ+ organisation Kaos GL, while five others remained wanted. Kaos GL said the number of detained activists was at least 50, including more than 10 people arrested during police raids at their homes. The organisation also reported that access had been blocked to dozens of websites and social media accounts connected to LGBTQ+ groups, activists and rights advocates. The crackdown, referred to by the government as “My Family is Safe,” coincides with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s promotion of a “Decade of Family and Population” initiative intended to address Turkey’s declining birth rate and ageing population. Rights groups say the government has increasingly targeted LGBTQ+ people through hostile rhetoric and restrictions, describing the raids as part of a broader assault on civil society. The Turkish Human Rights Association called the operation “state-led discrimination” and “politics of fear.” Nacho Sánchez Amor, the European Parliament’s Turkey rapporteur, described the arrests as “a shocking escalation” and said imposing a moral agenda violated fundamental rights and Turkey’s international commitments. Prosecutors said they had evidence that children and underage youths were being improperly influenced on matters concerning sexual orientation and gender identity. Justice Minister Akin Gurlek said investigations in Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Aydin and Mersin involved judicial proceedings against 162 suspects, nine associations and 13 businesses across 15 provinces.