Turkey raids LGBTQ+ groups across cities, detains dozens in crackdown

Turkish authorities carried out coordinated raids on multiple LGBTQ+ groups and individuals early on Sunday, detaining dozens of people, breaking into association offices and raiding popular meeting places across several cities. The action marks an escalation in the government's long-running hostility towards LGBTQ+ groups, especially in periods leading up to elections.

The raids began around 1 am in Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Aydin and Mersin. Justice Minister Akin Gurlek said an investigation had been launched against 162 suspects, nine associations and 13 businesses to “protect children, the institution of the family, and public order” in line with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's 10-year executive order related to families and children.

In a post on social media, Gurlek said: “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!” He also said the associations were found to have received significant funding from international sources and agencies.

The operation targeted both current and former members of several prominent LGBTQ+ rights and HIV awareness groups. The websites of the organisations were also blocked.

The Human Rights Association condemned the raids, saying: “This is not a judicial investigation; it is a political operation aimed at forcing society into a monolithic family model and purging LGBTI+ and independent civil society under the guise of protecting the family and children.” It added: “To include unrelated charges such as forming a criminal organisation, drugs, prostitution and obscenity serves not to reveal the truth but to incriminate the entire community.”

Turkey's religious conservative Justice and Development Party has stepped up its rhetoric against LGBTQ+ groups in recent years, appealing to the more conservative sections of its support base. In 2015, it banned Istanbul Pride, which had earlier drawn tens of thousands of people, and authorities have since forcibly broken up attempts to hold Pride gatherings. This summer, an LGBTQ+ cruise ship that tours the Mediterranean and had docked in Turkiye several times in the past was denied permission to dock there.

Homosexuality was decriminalised in 1858 under the Ottoman Empire, the predecessor to modern Turkiye, but social discrimination remains significant. Sunday's raids, the detentions and the blocking of websites have added to concerns over pressure on LGBTQ+ groups and independent civil society in the country.