Turkey Launches Major LGBTQ+ Crackdown, Dozens Detained In Raids Across 15 Provinces

Turkish authorities launched a sweeping crackdown on LGBTQ+ and HIV support groups early Sunday, detaining at least 47 people, raiding association offices, homes and LGBTQ+ venues, and blocking websites and social media accounts linked to activists.

The coordinated raids began around 1 am and were carried out in cities including Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Aydin and Mersin. Reuters reported that operations over the weekend directly covered 12 provinces, while Justice Minister Akin Gurlek said the wider investigation spans 15 provinces and involves 162 suspects, nine associations and 13 businesses.

In Istanbul, prosecutors said 26 of 38 suspects targeted in the operation had been detained. Authorities said they seized drugs, digital equipment, smuggled alcohol and a firearm. In a separate Ankara investigation involving LGBTQ+ organisation Kaos GL, another 21 people were detained, while five others were still being sought, taking the official detention figure to at least 47.

Kaos GL, however, said at least 50 activists had been detained, including more than 10 people arrested during police raids on their homes. Its Ankara office was searched, while authorities also blocked access to dozens of websites and social media accounts belonging to LGBTQ+ organisations, activists and rights advocates.

Gurlek said the investigations, officially called “My Family Is Safe”, were intended to protect children, families and public order. Prosecutors said they had evidence that children and underage youths were being inappropriately influenced on issues concerning sexual orientation and gender identity. The investigation also involves allegations including forming a criminal organisation, prostitution, obscenity and drug offences.

The government has linked the operation to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s “Decade of Family and Population” initiative, which seeks to address Turkey’s falling birth rate and ageing population while promoting traditional family values. Gurlek also said authorities were examining significant foreign funding received by some associations.

The Turkish Human Rights Association condemned the crackdown, saying it was a political operation designed to impose a single family model and weaken LGBTQ+ and independent civil society groups. It argued that charges involving drugs, prostitution and obscenity were being used to portray the wider LGBTQ+ community as a criminal network.

The crackdown also drew criticism from the European Parliament. Nacho Sanchez Amor, its Turkey rapporteur, described the arrests as a “shocking escalation”, saying the imposition of a moral agenda violated fundamental rights and Turkey’s international commitments.

The operation marks another escalation in Turkey’s long-running pressure on LGBTQ+ groups. Istanbul Pride was banned in 2015 after years of large gatherings, and authorities have repeatedly dispersed attempted Pride events. This summer, an LGBTQ+ cruise ship that had previously docked in Turkey was also refused permission to dock.

Homosexuality is not illegal in Turkey. The Ottoman Empire, predecessor to the modern Turkish republic, decriminalised homosexuality in 1858. However, LGBTQ+ people continue to face significant social discrimination, while rights groups say government restrictions and hostile rhetoric have intensified in recent years.