Turkey conducts crackdown on LGBTQIA+ activists and organizations

Turkish authorities have launched a coordinated crackdown against LGBTQIA+ activists and organizations under an operation titled ‘My Family is Safe’. The initiative, part of a broader ‘decade of the family and population’ policy, has resulted in the detention of at least 117 people, including 44 rights defenders. Many of those held are transgender women facing charges related to obscenity and sex work.

Raids targeted the offices of several LGBTQIA+ and HIV-advocacy groups in cities such as Ankara and Istanbul. Prosecutors have accused these organizations of promoting obscenity and maintaining financial links abroad. In addition to the detentions, authorities have moved to dissolve certain collectives and have blocked hundreds of social media accounts, including those belonging to Amnesty International Türkyie and the Kaos GL collective.

Protests against the raids led to the arrest of approximately 125 to 150 individuals, including journalists. Detainees have reported facing humiliation, strip searches, and difficulties accessing medical care, such as hormone replacement therapy, while in custody.