Turkey detains 26 people after raids targeting LGBTQ+ groups
Authorities said the operation targeted 162 suspects, nine associations and 13 businesses as part of a family-protection campaign.
- Turkish security forces detained 26 individuals and raided six LGBTQ+ organization offices across 12 provinces following allegations of prostitution and obscenity.
- The nationwide operations, code-named "My Family is Safe," were conducted under President Tayyip Erdogan's "Decade of Family and Population" policy initiative targeting falling birth rates.
- Justice Minister Akin Gurlek confirmed related judicial proceedings against 162 suspects, nine civil society associations, and 13 businesses across 15 provinces.
- Turkish courts simultaneously ordered digital blocks on dozens of websites and social media accounts belonging to major human rights platforms, including Kaos GL and Lambdaistanbul.
- Human rights organizations strongly condemned the raids, characterizing the police action as state-led discrimination and a systemic effort to dismantle Turkish civil society.
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200 Articles
The government calls the campaign 'My Family is Safe', while human rights groups call it state-sponsored discrimination.
Turkey LGBTQ Crackdown: 47 Detained in Raids
By: Paul Goldberg – Senior Correspondent | LGBTQ Politics Asia ISTANBUL, TURKEY — (September 13, 2026) — Turkish authorities have detained at least 47 people in a sweeping series of raids targeting LGBTQ organizations, activists and other locations as the government intensifies a campaign it says is designed to protect traditional family values. The weekend [...] The post Turkey LGBTQ Crackdown Explodes as 47 Detained in Sweeping Raids on Gay Ba…
Dozens arrested in major anti-LGBTQ raids in Turkey
Turkey's LGBTQ community has frequently been targeted by the government, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan lashing it as a "deviant movement" of "perverts" responsible for the falling birth rate. Sunday's raid came a day after the accounts of more than a dozen Turkish LGBTQ organisations were blocked on X at the request of the authorities, according to a watchdog. "As part of the 'My Family is Safe' operations... carried out in collaboration w…
Turkish authorities targeted at least 162 people during a crackdown on the country's LGBTQIAPN+ community over the weekend. Ankara claims the police raids on gay bars, activists' homes, and other locations aimed to protect traditional "family values." According to AFP, at least 63 were arrested in the conservative crackdown.
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