Turkey Detains Over 100 in Nationwide 'My Family is Safe' LGBTQ Crackdown

For a sweeping state crackdown to hold up in court, the targeted behavior usually needs to be illegal. In Turkey, homosexuality is not a crime—and hasn't been since the mid-19th century—which means the government has to rely on administrative creativity to police it. This week, that creativity took the form of a nationwide sweep. Operating under a campaign dubbed "My Family is Safe," Turkish police raided nightclubs, homes, and the offices of HIV-advocacy groups across 15 provinces, detaining over 100 people and hauling activists away in handcuffs.[1][4][5]

The operation began in the early hours of September 13, 2026, with simultaneous raids in Istanbul, the capital Ankara, and coastal cities including İzmir, Aydın, and Mersin. Video footage released by the Turkish Interior Ministry showed officers rummaging through filing cabinets and confiscating rainbow flags from the offices of civil society organizations. Among the primary targets was Kaos GL, Turkey's longest-running LGBTQ+ advocacy group, which saw members of its board of directors taken into custody.[1][5]

Because prosecutors cannot charge individuals simply for their sexual orientation, they have leaned heavily on adjacent statutes. Justice Minister Akın Gürlek announced that the operation targeted 13 businesses and nine associations to "protect children, the institution of the family and the social order." Detainees are facing a patchwork of allegations, primarily centered on violating laws that prohibit "obscenity" and breaching the Law on Associations.[1][4][5]

The raids align closely with a broader cultural initiative launched by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Facing declining national birthrates, Erdoğan recently declared a "Decade of the Family and Population," a policy push that provides financial incentives to newlyweds while framing queer identities as a direct threat. He has previously described LGBTQ+ advocacy as a "battering ram" against traditional Turkish values, arguing that those who defend the family are subjected to heavy oppression by a global dictatorship.[1][5]

The sweep did not stop at advocacy groups. Police also raided two organizations dedicated to supporting people living with HIV, seizing digital equipment and effectively halting their operations. Human Rights Watch noted that among the initial detainees, at least 24 were founders or executives of the targeted groups, and one was a journalist. "This crackdown is a blatant attempt to criminalize and marginalize LGBT people and silence the groups that stand up for their rights," said Benjamin Ward, the deputy Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch.[1][4]

The physical raids were accompanied by a severe digital blackout. Between September 12 and 16, Turkish courts issued orders to block dozens of social media platforms and websites belonging to rights groups and independent media. The X accounts of Amnesty International in Turkey, the daily newspaper Evrensel, and the Media and Law Studies Association were all ordered blocked and remained inaccessible in the days following the raids.[4]

The initial wave of detentions sparked immediate public backlash. Demonstrators gathered outside the Çağlayan courthouse in Istanbul, unfurling banners that read "Being LGBTQ+ is not a crime" and chanting slogans in support of the detainees. Police responded forcefully, deploying tear gas in İzmir and detaining over 100 additional people across multiple cities for protesting the crackdown.[1][5]

Domestic opposition has been vocal, despite the risks. The Turkish Medical Association condemned the restrictions placed on HIV/AIDS organizations, warning of the public health consequences. Meanwhile, the Left Party and other political opposition figures called the operations unconstitutional, with Kaos GL describing the sweep as "state-led discrimination, politics of fear and the dismantling of civil society."[5]

As of late September, at least 82 people remain in pre-trial detention under court order, and the formal charges against many remain opaque. The government has shown no signs of backing down, with officials continuing to frame the crackdown as a necessary defense of the social order. The true test will be whether the Turkish judiciary upholds these broad obscenity charges, or if the sheer scale of the arrests forces a legal reckoning.[1][4]