Authorities in Turkey have launched one of the country’s largest recent crackdowns on the LGBTQIA+ community, raiding queer organisations, homes, bars and other community spaces while detaining dozens of people and blocking LGBTQIA+ websites and social media accounts.
At least 63 people have reportedly been detained according to AFP, while Turkish authorities say judicial proceedings have been launched against 162 suspects, nine associations and 13 businesses across 15 provinces.
The raids have since sparked protests, with police using pepper spray against demonstrators in the western city of Izmir on Monday.
Homosexuality has been legal in Turkey since 1858 and has plans to join the European Union.
However the government banned public pride events in 2015 and the country has grown more repressive since Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan came to power in 2014.
Raids framed as “protecting the family”
Police began carrying out coordinated raids in the early hours of Sunday morning, targeting LGBTQIA+ organisations and community spaces in cities including Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Aydın and Mersin.
The raids were part of a government campaign called “My Family is Safe” and what President Erdoğan has declared as a “Decade of the Family.”
Police reportedly raided the offices of six Turkish LGBTQIA+ rights organisations, including leading group Kaos GL, one of Turkey’s oldest and best-known LGBTQIA+ rights organisations.
Police raided the organisation’s offices and detained members of its board and audit committee, while phones, computers, tablets, USB drives and other digital equipment were reportedly seized
Turkish Justice Minister Akin Gurlek claimed the raids had been prompted by accusations of prostitution and obscenity.
“As per the duty to protect families and children given to the state by the constitution, no criminal organisation, abuse network or illegal activity which targets children, youths or families will be tolerated!” Gurlek claimed.
But LGBTQIA+ organisations have strongly rejected the suggestion that the operation is simply a criminal investigation.
The organisations targeted in the raids released a joint statement.
“Being LGBTİ+, forming an association, and defending human rights are not crimes,” the groups say.
“We are not a silent community waiting for others to speak about us. We speak about our own lives, document discrimination, criticise public policies, formulate demands, and organise.
“This is how we exercise our citizenship. A statement that speaks of preventing the “normalisation” of our existence raises a political issue that goes beyond concrete allegations of criminal conduct.”
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Protesting the arrests
On Monday, around 200 people gathered in Izmir to protest the arrests.
Demonstrators chanted slogans including “You will never walk alone” and “May your so-called ‘holy family’ go to hell”, referring to the government’s justification for the raids.
Police used pepper spray against protesters and detained two people, including a lawyer.
Turkish opposition MP Sezgin Tanrıkulu described the raids as “serious human rights violations”.
“[These raids] are a collective, illegal attack targeting sexual orientation and gender identity, a fundamental and existential right,” he said.
The European Union has also expressed concern.
Christian Wigand, a spokesperson for the European Commission, said the EU is “concerned about the recent arrests and legal proceedings initiated against LGBTIQ+ activists, human rights associations and businesses”.
Online supression
While the arrests and raids have received international attention, LGBTQIA+ organisations say another part of the operation has been happening largely out of sight.
Beginning on September 12, Turkish authorities restricted access to the websites and social media accounts of numerous LGBTQIA+ organisations, independent media platforms, student groups and human rights defenders.
Kaos GL has said prosecutors alleged that material published on its website and social media accounts constituted “obscene” content accessible to children.
Repro Uncensored, which monitors digital censorship around the world, said the latest restrictions were part of a broader pattern of online repression targeting LGBTQIA+ people in Turkey.
The organisation said it was investigating the scale of the restrictions and their impact on access to health information, legal support and essential community services.
“Digital censorship is being used alongside raids and detentions to isolate LGBTQI+ communities, silence their voices and dismantle their ability to organize,” said Repro Uncensored founder and executive director Martha Dimitratou.
“Digital censorship is being used alongside raids and detentions to isolate LGBTQI+ communities, silence their voices and dismantle their ability to organise,” she said.
“This coordinated repression is a direct threat to democracy, freedom of expression and respect for fundamental human rights. LGBTQI+ visibility, solidarity and community care are not crimes. Türkiye must immediately release those detained, drop all discriminatory charges and restore access to the websites and social media accounts it has blocked.”
The International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) also condemned the “deplorable” actions taken against the LGBTQIA+ community.
“People are being attacked and detained simply for being who they are and for standing up for their rights,” Nerida Williams, Communications, Voice and Media Global Advisor at IPPF, said.
“At IPPF, we recognise the tactic of using the language of ‘protecting children and family’ to justify attacks on LGBTQI+ people and their rights. We reject it. Queer people are our children. Queer people are our family. Their rights deserve care and protection.”
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A growing history
President Erdoğan has repeatedly attacked the LGBTQIA+ community, including blaming them for his country’s falling birthrate.
His government is reportedly preparing legislation to introduce a Russia-style ban on so-called LGBT propaganda.
Public Pride events have also effectively been banned in the country since 2015, with police repeatedly dispersing marches and detaining participants.
This year’s Pride season saw further mass arrests, with at least 125 people detained during Pride events and protests across Turkey, according to Repro Uncensored and IPPF.
At the same time, more than 120 LGBTQIA+ and feminist social media accounts were suspended across major platforms.
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Can we have countries that are going backwards like that banned from the 2032 Olympics, and if any of the leaders of countries like that are here then can we give them absolute hell with protests etc?