At least 47 people have been detained in anti-LGBTQ+ raids carried out across the country, as Turkish authorities intensify the crackdown on queer organisations and activists.
The Istanbul chief prosecutor’s office said that, over the weekend, operations took place in 12 provinces targeting 38 suspects. A total of 47 people were detained, and the number may continue to rise.
The anti-LGBTQ+ crackdown has also extended online. Authorities blocked access to dozens of websites and social media accounts belonging to LGBTQ+ organisations, feminist organisations, activists, and rights advocates.
Among those affected are Kaos GL, an LGBTQ+ organisation, and lawyer and human rights advocate Levent Pişkin. According to an internet freedom watchdog, a number of LGBTQ+ organisations and activists have had their accounts restricted within Turkey.
Kaos GL said that 10 people were taken in after the Turkish police conducted raids in the LGBTQ+ activists’ own homes. Prosecutors claimed that evidence showed that children and young people were being “inappropriately influenced” on issues relating to sexual orientation and gender identity.
The crackdown, dubbed “My Family is Safe” by the government, comes as President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan promotes the national strategy “Decade of Family and Population”, introduced in response to falling birth rates and an ageing population.
The latest raids follow years of growing restrictions on the Turkish LGBTQ+ community. While same-sex relationships are legal in Turkey, LGBTQ+ people continue to face discrimination and restrictions on public organising. Istanbul Pride has been banned since 2015, with subsequent attempts to hold marches repeatedly dispersed by police.
Rights groups have condemned the raids, accusing authorities of using the rhetoric of protecting “family values” to further restrict LGBTQ+ organisations and civil society. Sharing a post on X, Turkish Human Rights Association said: “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.”
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