Türkiye detains at least 63 in raids targeting LGBTQ groups
Police raids across four cities targeted LGBTQ organisations, gay bars, offices and activists’ homes in an investigation authorities said involved 162 suspects.
Turkish authorities have detained at least 63 people in raids targeting LGBTQ organisations, businesses and activists across Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir and Mersin, according to prosecutors cited by Anadolu and reporting by AFP.
Justice Minister Akin Gurlek said prosecutors were investigating 162 suspects, nine associations and 13 businesses. He said the operation was intended to protect children, families and public order, and linked it to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s “Decade of Family and Population” policy addressing Türkiye’s falling birthrate.
The raids targeted current and former members of LGBTQ rights and HIV awareness groups. Websites belonging to the organisations were reportedly blocked days before police entered offices, gay bars and activists’ homes.
Kaos GL said nearly 50 LGBTQ rights defenders had either been detained or become subject to legal proceedings involving questioning or detention. The supplied material does not establish that all 162 suspects were detained, or specify the alleged offences or legal status of those under investigation.
Rights groups and a European Parliament rapporteur condemned the operation as state discrimination and an escalation of repression. The raids follow years of restrictions on LGBTQ gatherings in Türkiye, including the governing AK Party’s ban on Istanbul Pride in 2015 and the dispersal of subsequent attempted gatherings.
