Turkish authorities have launched a nationwide crackdown targeting LGBTQ organisations, activists and venues, detaining at least 63 people in raids across several major cities, according to state media and international news agencies.
Police carried out coordinated operations on Sunday in Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir and Mersin, searching homes, offices and gay bars as part of an investigation that officials described as an effort to protect children, families and public order.
Turkey’s Justice Minister Akin Gurlek said prosecutors were investigating 162 people, along with nine associations and 13 businesses. The operations were conducted under the name “My Family is Safe,” a campaign that authorities linked to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s broader family policy agenda.
Gurlek said the investigation was connected to the government’s 10-year “Decade of Family and Population” executive order, which seeks to address Turkey’s declining birthrate and promote what the government describes as traditional family values.
The minister defended the crackdown by saying the state had a constitutional responsibility to protect children and families. He also accused criminal organisations and illegal activities of threatening young people and families, without providing evidence that the LGBTQ groups targeted in the raids were involved in such activities.
LGBTQ rights organisations strongly criticised the operations. Kaos GL, one of Turkey’s prominent LGBTQ rights groups, said that nearly 50 human rights defenders had either been taken into custody or become subject to legal proceedings involving questioning or detention.
The raids come after websites belonging to several LGBTQ and HIV-awareness organisations were blocked days earlier, raising concerns among rights groups that the government was preparing a wider campaign against LGBTQ advocacy.
Turkey has experienced growing restrictions on LGBTQ public life during Erdogan’s rule. Authorities have increasingly used public-order and family-protection arguments to restrict Pride events and LGBTQ gatherings, while government officials have repeatedly promoted conservative social policies.
The latest arrests have intensified concerns among activists and international rights observers about freedom of expression, association and assembly in Turkey. LGBTQ organisations say the crackdown risks further marginalising an already vulnerable community and restricting legitimate human rights advocacy.
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