The number of arrests in a sweeping crackdown against Turkish LGBTQ organizations and activists continues to rise with pre-trial detention sentencing expected Tuesday (September 15) at the Adliye Courthouse in Istanbul.
By Leo Kendrick • Medyascope
The operation, entitled ‘My Family is Safe’, was launched by Turkey’s Justice Ministry late Saturday night and early Sunday morning with raids on LGBTQ associations, bars, and nightclubs. The operation purports to protect Turkish families from “content and entities that are contrary to public morality” that “target and negatively impact youth”. Critics say the initiative criminalizes the identity of LGBTQ individuals in Turkey.
The operation, unprecedented in its size and scope, has been widely interpreted as an attempt to eliminate Turkey’s remaining LGBTQ civil society.
In Turkey’s Aegean city of İzmir, 16 individuals have already been arrested pre-trial following their original detention on September 13th.
On Saturday (September 12), an Istanbul court ordered the blocking of a list of websites and social media accounts belonging to LGBTQ organizations, student clubs, and activists.
Late Saturday, security forces raided the offices of Kaos GL, one of Turkey’s largest and oldest LGBTQ rights organizations that also runs a magazine, detaining dozens. Access to the organization’s website and social media accounts has also been blocked under the rationale of ‘obscene content’.
Several LGBTQ nightclubs in İstanbul’s Beyoğlu district were also raided Late Saturday into early Sunday.
Similar raids were also carried out in other cities across Turkey including Mersin, Kuşadası, Ankara, Ordu, İzmir, Elazığ, Çanakkale, Balıkesir, Aydın, Kırşehir, Iğdır, Antalya, and Hatay.
Protests in İzmir, İstanbul
On Monday evening (September 14), videos went viral on social media showing a group of pro-LGBTQ protestors clashing with riot police in İzmir.
On Tuesday afternoon, a demonstration took place outside Istanbul’s Cağlayan Courthouse, where numerous LGBTQ activists were expected to be sentenced to pre-trial detention.
Riot police surrounded the group of demonstrators, who were later arrested. Journalists covering the event were also removed from the scene.
LGBTQ rights in Turkey
Government policies towards LGBTQ individuals in Turkey have become progressively stricter in recent years. Since 2015, Istanbul’s annual gay pride parade has been banned by authorities on security grounds that activists argue are ideologically motivated.
In 2025, Turkey’s far-right Islamist HÜDA-PAR party proposed a draft bill aiming to criminalize same-sex relationships. The bill was ultimately unsuccessful.
Increasing repression towards LBGTQ individuals has also been identified as a factor driving brain-drain out of Turkey.
Turkey cracks down on LGBTQ groups and activists | Written/translated by Leo Kendrick for Medyascope | Edited by Medyascope English Newsroom
