Large-scale police operations dubbed “Ailem Güvende” (“My Family Is Safe”) targeting LGBTİ+ organizations, activists, and businesses were carried out in 15 provinces across Turkey. In the operations, which Justice Minister Gürlek said were conducted to protect children and the family in line with President Erdoğan’s “Decade of Family and Population” policy, 162 suspects, nine associations, and 13 businesses were targeted.
In investigations launched under the coordination of the Chief Public Prosecutors’ Offices in Istanbul, Ankara, İzmir, Aydın, and Mersin, board and supervisory board members of numerous LGBTİ+ associations, particularly Kaos GL, were detained in midnight home raids. Searches were conducted at association offices, and digital materials were confiscated.
During the operations, which were carried out on charges including “obscenity,” “facilitating prostitution,” and “violation of the Associations Law,” access was blocked to the websites of numerous associations—including Kaos GL, Pembe Hayat, SPoD, and 17 Mayıs—as well as the social media accounts of activists, lawyers, and journalists. As part of the investigation, simultaneous raids were also conducted at nightclubs and massage parlors in Istanbul’s Beyoğlu and Şişli districts.
European Parliament Turkey Rapporteur Nacho Sánchez Amor reacted to the large-scale police operations targeting LGBTİ+ organizations, activists, and businesses frequented by LGBTİ+ people across Turkey, describing the developments as a “shocking escalation” of repression in the country.
The full statement by the European Parliament’s Turkey Rapporteur reads:
“The large-scale wave of detentions and raids targeting LGBTİ activists last night is a shocking escalation of repression in Turkey. The imposition of this moral agenda is a clear violation of fundamental rights and Turkey’s international obligations and is dragging the country down a dark path.”
Restrictions continue
Access has been blocked to the websites of Kaos GL and Velvele, as well as the social media accounts of numerous LGBTİ+ organizations, activists, and human rights defenders. Politicians, legal professionals, journalists, and human rights advocates have reacted to the restrictions and the operations targeting LGBTİ+ organizations.
