In Istanbul and across fifteen Turkish provinces, a government campaign called 'My Family is Safe' has moved against LGBTQ+ activists, venues, and civil society organizations — arresting dozens, blocking digital spaces, and raiding homes and offices. Though same-sex relations remain legal in Turkey, the state has found other instruments to suppress identity and advocacy alike. When protesters gathered outside Istanbul's courthouse to call for the release of those detained in weekend raids, police arrested them too — transforming an act of witness into further evidence of what rights organizati
Turkey escalates crackdown on LGBTQ+ activists with mass arrests
Dozens of LGBTQ+ activists and protesters detained in raids and arrests across Turkey as part of government crackdown campaign.
Being LGBTQ is not a crime—but the state is treating it as one
Mark
So the government says this is about protecting families. What does that actually mean in practice?
Mimi
It means raids on gay bars, arrests of activists at their homes, blocking websites. The stated rationale is family values, but the actual operation targets LGBTQ+ people and organizations that advocate for their rights.
Luke
Right, but we should be clear: same-sex relations aren't illegal in Turkey. So what's the legal basis for these arrests? Are they charging people with specific crimes, or is this more about harassment and obstruction?
Mimi
That's the crucial question. The Justice Ministry says 162 individuals are targeted, but the reporting doesn't specify what charges they face. It could be anything from organizing without permits to incitement—the framework is vague enough to justify almost anything.
Mark
And the websites being blocked—is that government censorship or something else?
Mimi
Human Rights Watch documented that authorities blocked or restricted access to social media and websites of LGBT organizations, media outlets, and rights groups. That's direct government action.
Luke
But we don't have the specific legal orders or the stated reasons for each block. We know it happened; we don't know the mechanism or the justification the government is using.
Mark
What about the president's comments? Does he set the tone for this?
Mimi
Erdogan has called LGBTQ+ people perverts and blamed them for falling birth rates. That's not just rhetoric—it's a political signal that gives cover to law enforcement to act against the community.
Luke
True, but we should separate what Erdogan says from what the operation actually is. His rhetoric creates the climate, but the operation itself is being coordinated by prosecutors and police across 15 provinces. That's institutional action, not just presidential posturing.
Mark
So what happens next?
Mimi
The international pressure is mounting. The Council of Europe's human rights commissioner has raised concerns. But Turkey isn't under the same kind of pressure as smaller countries might be. The question is whether this escalates or whether international attention slows it down.
The Pulse
- A courthouse protest demanding freedom for arrested LGBTQ+ activists was itself met with arrests, folding an act of solidarity into the very crisis it sought to oppose.
- The government's 'My Family is Safe' operation has swept across 15 provinces, targeting 162 individuals, nine associations, and 13 businesses in coordinated raids on homes, bars, and offices.
- Authorities have extended the crackdown into digital space, blocking social media accounts and websites of dozens of LGBTQ+ organizations, media outlets, and human rights groups.
- President Erdoğan's public rhetoric branding LGBTQ+ people as 'perverts' has provided political cover for enforcement that targets not conduct but identity and the act of organizing.
- The Council of Europe's human rights commissioner has issued formal concern, signaling that international institutions are watching a NATO member state hollow out civil protections in real time.
- Rights organizations warn that each raid, each blocked account, and each detention is not an isolated incident but a reinforcing signal: visibility and advocacy now carry a measurable cost in Turkey.
In Istanbul and across fifteen Turkish provinces, a government campaign called 'My Family is Safe' has moved against LGBTQ+ activists, venues, and civil society organizations — arresting dozens, blocking digital spaces, and raiding homes and offices. Though same-sex relations remain legal in Turkey, the state has found other instruments to suppress identity and advocacy alike. When protesters gathered outside Istanbul's courthouse to call for the release of those detained in weekend raids, police arrested them too — transforming an act of witness into further evidence of what rights organizations now call a systematic campaign of suppression. The episode asks an old and unresolved question: what remains of a legal protection when the will to enforce it has been replaced by the will to erase it.
On a Tuesday morning in Istanbul, police moved on a crowd gathered outside the city's main courthouse. The protesters had come to demand the release of LGBTQ+ activists arrested days earlier in coordinated raids on gay bars and private homes. They chanted, held signs, and declared that being LGBTQ+ was not a crime. Police responded with more arrests — turning a call for justice into another chapter of the same story.
The raids that prompted the protest belong to a government operation called 'My Family is Safe,' which the Justice Ministry says targets 162 individuals across 15 provinces, along with nine associations and 13 businesses. Its stated purpose is the protection of family values. In practice, it has meant sweeps through activist homes and gay venues, and a coordinated effort to dismantle the organizations that advocate for LGBTQ+ rights.
The crackdown reaches beyond physical raids. Human Rights Watch documented the blocking of social media accounts and websites belonging to dozens of LGBT organizations, media outlets, and human rights groups. The simultaneous, multi-province scope of the operation points to coordination at the highest levels of law enforcement.
Turkey does not criminalize same-sex relations, but President Erdoğan has publicly called LGBTQ+ people 'perverts' and blamed them for the country's declining birth rate. That rhetoric has opened political space for enforcement that targets not criminal conduct but identity and the act of speaking publicly about it.
The Council of Europe's Commissioner for Human Rights issued a statement of concern — the words of an institution watching a NATO member state move against its own citizens for who they are. At the courthouse, one protester described what was unfolding as 'deeply disturbing.' The phrase holds what the numbers cannot: the experience of watching a government methodically close the spaces where a community gathers, speaks, and exists.
On a Tuesday morning in Istanbul, police moved in on a gathering outside the city's main courthouse. Dozens of people had assembled there to demand the release of LGBTQ+ activists arrested just days earlier in coordinated raids on gay bars and private homes. The protesters chanted for freedom and held signs declaring that being LGBTQ+ was not a crime. Police responded with arrests of their own, turning what had begun as a call for justice into another chapter in what rights organizations now describe as a widening campaign of suppression.
The weekend raids that prompted the courthouse protest were part of an operation the Turkish government calls "My Family is Safe." According to the Justice Ministry, the operation targets 162 individuals across 15 provinces, along with nine associations and 13 businesses. The stated purpose is to protect family values. In practice, it has meant raids on activist homes, sweeps through gay venues, and a systematic effort to silence civil society organizations that advocate for LGBTQ+ rights.
The scope of the crackdown extends beyond arrests. Human Rights Watch documented that authorities have blocked or restricted access to the social media accounts and websites of dozens of LGBT organizations, media outlets, and human rights groups. Association offices have been raided. The operation has unfolded across multiple provinces simultaneously, suggesting coordination at the highest levels of law enforcement and prosecution.
Turkey's legal code does not criminalize same-sex relations. Homophobia, however, is deeply embedded in the country's social fabric and political discourse. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has publicly described LGBTQ+ people as "perverts" and blamed them for Turkey's declining birth rate. That rhetoric has created political space for the kind of enforcement action now underway—a campaign that targets not criminal conduct but identity and advocacy itself.
The international response has been swift. Michael O'Flaherty, the Commissioner for Human Rights at the Council of Europe, issued a statement expressing concern about the arrests, raids, and digital censorship. His words carried the weight of an institution watching a NATO member state move against its own citizens for who they are and what they believe. The concern is not abstract: it reflects a pattern in which legal protections on paper have become increasingly hollow in practice.
At the courthouse protest, one demonstrator told the news agency AFP that what was unfolding was "deeply disturbing." The phrase captures something the numbers alone cannot convey—the experience of watching your government systematically dismantle the spaces where you gather, speak, and organize. The arrests that followed that protest are not separate incidents but part of the same machinery. Each raid, each blocked website, each detention reinforces the message that visibility and advocacy carry a cost.
Notable Quotes
I am concerned by reports of a series arrests, raids and the blocking of websites and social media accounts targeting LGBTI civil society and human rights defenders across Turkey— Michael O'Flaherty, Commissioner for Human Rights at the Council of Europe
What we are seeing now is deeply disturbing— A protester at the Istanbul courthouse, reported by AFP
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