Turkey Arrests Dozens of LGBTQ+ Activists and Raids Rights Groups’ Offices in Massive Crackdown
Turkey’s conservative has increasingly targeted the LGBTQ+ community over the last decade.
The LGBTQ+ rights community in Turkey is reeling after raids on queer rights organizations’ offices and hangouts, as well as the arrest of dozens of LGBTQ+ rights activists.
In the early hours on Sunday, authorities conducted a coordinated operation across the Turkish cities of Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Aydin, and Mersin.
According to a coalition of international rights groups that work in Turkey, the police arrested up to 162 people, including between 50 and 60 activists. Clubs were also raided, and others were arrested.
“The operation primarily targeted members of the boards of directors and auditors of LGBTI+ associations — the legally required governing and oversight bodies through which associations operate,” a statement from ILGA-Europe, TGEU, Front Line Defenders, and ERA, said.
The activists are involved with groups including Kaos GL and Pembe Hayat in Ankara; Muamma and 7 Renk in Mersin; and SPoD, Hevi, Lambda, LİSTAG, Pozitif Yaşam and Pozitif-iz in Istanbul.
Turkish Justice Minister Akin Gurlek said the raids were to “protect children, the institution of the family, and public order” and aligned with a 10-year-old executive order by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
“As per the duty to protect families and children given to the state by the constitution, no criminal organization, abuse network or illegal activity which targets children, youths or families will be tolerated!” Gurlek said, according to the Associated Press. He also connected the work the groups do with foreign funding, a tactic from authoritarian governments to distance LGBTQ+ rights as an international invention.
A court order on Saturday blocked the websites and social accounts of these organizations.
“The raids mark an escalation of a concerted attack on LGBTI activism and community support that had been going on for years in Türkiye, including restrictions and detentions at Pride, censorship of LGBTI content, pressure on organisations, and political narratives portraying LGBTI people as threats to children, families and public morality,” the coalition of human rights groups said. “However, the combination of morality-based allegations, raids, detention of governing body members, digital censorship, equipment seizures and scrutiny of foreign funding are taking the attack to a new level, as they violate the fundamental right to freedom of association and point to a much broader attempt to attack civil society organisations in Türkiye.”
The coalition asked the European Union, Council of Europe, United Nations, OSCE/ODIHR, diplomatic missions in Türkiye, international human rights organisations, donors, and partner organisations to condemn the raids and work to release those detained.
“Human rights work is not a crime, and we will never stand aside in the fight for democracy and democratic values,” they said. “Silence in the face of this escalation will only create space for further aggressive repression.”
