Turkish authorities have initiated an unprecedented campaign to suppress the LGBT community, arresting and detaining hundreds of journalists, activists, representatives of HIV organizations, and ordinary citizens.
The detainees have been charged with 'obscenity,' 'aiding prostitution,' and having 'foreign financial ties,' while the government and its supporters promote a narrative about protecting family values.
Turkey's Minister of Justice, Akin Gürlek, stated that legal proceedings have begun against more than 160 individuals and organizations across the country. These arrests were concentrated in five provinces and covered a total of 15 provinces.
The main target was Kaos GL, Turkey's most prominent LGBT organization. According to the Ankara prosecutor's office, 21 arrests were made as part of the investigation. Journalist Tuğba Tekerek was detained over an article she wrote for the news portal Kaos GL concerning the LGBT community in Georgia.
İldiz Tar, editor of Kaos GL, speaking before the Middle East Eye at the Çağlayan courthouse in Istanbul on Tuesday, stated that he had never seen such an extensive suppression campaign. He noted that half of the arrested individuals are journalists and activists, and the other half are ordinary people detained during raids in gay bars and cafes or homes.
'The main thing they say or try to say is that the mere existence of LGBT people and their visibility is obscene,' said İldiz Tar.
He added that this represents a new level of oppression against LGBT activism and existence, and the government is trying to convince people that LGBT people seek to destroy the family. Tar himself spent four months in prison last year on charges of membership in the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), and another month in 2026 for membership in the Communist Party of Turkey/Marxist-Leninist (TKP/ML), which he denies.
Currently under pre-trial detention and travel bans, Tar stated during his confinement that he was never asked about his involvement in these banned groups—only about his work on LGBT issues.
Although homosexuality is not illegal in Turkey, and social views vary, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has increasingly targeted the LGBT community in recent years. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced earlier this year that a 'Decade of the Family' would begin in 2026. The latest crackdown campaign was named by the government as the 'My Family is Safe' operation.
'The main thing they say or try to say is that the mere existence of LGBT people and their visibility is obscene,' Tar repeated. He believes that 'the real threat to the family is poverty, lack of social policy, the threat of femicide, and they are trying to hide this lack of policy by demonizing LGBT people.'
On Tuesday, another 150 people were detained near the Çağlayan courthouse in Istanbul during a protest against this campaign. Police intervened while protesters chanted: 'Long live life in defiance of hate.'
In recent days, numerous social media accounts have also been blocked in Turkey. On Monday, at the request of Turkish authorities, X blocked the accounts of Amnesty International Turkey, the left-wing newspaper Evrensel, Academics for Peace, and Media and Law Studies Association.
Accounts and websites of Kaos GL, prominent human rights defender Levent Piskın, and the women's organization Mor Dayanışma were also blocked.
Both domestic and international bodies have criticized the anti-LGBT campaign in Turkey since its start over the weekend. The Turkish Human Rights Association characterized the operation as 'state-sponsored discrimination, a policy of fear, and the dismantling of civil society,' while Nacho Sánchez Amor, European Parliament rapporteur on Turkey, called the arrests a 'shocking escalation' of repression.
Meanwhile, the left-wing Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) also condemned the campaign, warning that it could undermine current negotiations between the government and the PKK. DEM stated on Tuesday: 'The language of peace cannot exist alongside the practice of repression.'