Turkish authorities conducted a crackdown on various 2SLGBTQ+ organizations and individuals in the early hours of Sunday, detaining numerous members, breaking into association premises, and raiding popular meeting spots. This action, which comes amidst a long-standing animosity towards 2SLGBTQ+ groups, particularly in the run-up to elections, involved simultaneous police operations starting at 1 a.m. in major cities such as Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Aydin, and Mersin.
Justice Minister Akin Gürlek announced via social media that the crackdown targeted 162 suspects, nine associations, and 13 businesses to safeguard children, the family institution, and public order, aligning with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s 10-year executive order concerning families and children. Gürlek emphasized the state’s constitutional responsibility to protect families and children, vowing zero tolerance for criminal organizations, exploitation networks, or illicit activities that harm children, youth, or families.
The raids aimed at individuals affiliated with various prominent 2SLGBTQ+ rights and HIV awareness groups, both current and former members, with the organizations’ websites subsequently blocked. Gürlek also mentioned that these associations were found to be receiving substantial funding from international sources and agencies.
Following the crackdown, the Human Rights Association criticized the operation, labeling it as a politically motivated move to impose a uniform family model on society and eliminate LGBTI+ and independent civil society under the guise of protecting families and children. The religious conservative Justice and Development Party, under Erdogan’s leadership, has increasingly voiced opposition to 2SLGBTQ+ groups to appeal to its more conservative supporters.
In 2015, the party prohibited Istanbul Pride, an event that had attracted tens of thousands of participants in previous years. Since then, authorities have forcefully dispersed any attempts to hold Pride gatherings. This summer, a 2SLGBTQ+ cruise ship, a regular visitor to Turkey in the past, was denied permission to dock there. Although homosexuality was decriminalized in the Ottoman Empire in 1858, social discrimination against the 2SLGBTQ+ community still persists in modern-day Turkey.