Turkey Detains Dozens in Sweeping Crackdown on LGBTQ+ Groups
📅 Date: September 13, 2026
📰 Source: CNN
📌 Topic: Turkey | LGBTQ+ Rights | Arrests | Human Rights
Turkish authorities have detained dozens of people in a nationwide crackdown targeting LGBTQ+ organizations and activists, in one of the latest escalations of pressure on the country’s LGBTQ+ community.
According to prosecutors, coordinated operations were carried out across multiple provinces. Authorities said 47 people had been detained, including 26 in an Istanbul investigation and another 21 in Ankara. The investigations involve 162 suspects, nine associations and 13 businesses across 15 provinces.
Turkish officials have described the operation as part of a campaign called “My Family is Safe,” saying it is intended to protect children, family values and public order. Authorities have alleged offenses including prostitution and obscenity and said police seized drugs, digital equipment, smuggled alcohol and a firearm during some of the raids.
LGBTQ+ rights organization Kaos GL said its Ankara office was searched and that at least 50 activists had been detained, including people taken from their homes. The organization also reported that websites and social-media accounts connected to LGBTQ+ groups and activists had been blocked.
Human-rights organizations have strongly criticized the crackdown, describing it as politically motivated discrimination and an effort to suppress LGBTQ+ activism and independent civil society. A European Parliament rapporteur on Turkey called the arrests a “shocking escalation” of repression.
The latest action comes after years of increasing restrictions on LGBTQ+ visibility in Turkey. Istanbul Pride has been banned since 2015, and authorities have repeatedly dispersed attempted Pride gatherings. Homosexuality itself is not criminalized in Turkey, but LGBTQ+ people continue to face significant discrimination and restrictions.
The crackdown is drawing international attention as rights groups warn that the government’s expanding “family values” agenda could further restrict freedom of association, expression and LGBTQ+ rights in Turkey.
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📅 Date: September 13, 2026
📰 Source: CNN
📌 Topic: Turkey | LGBTQ+ Rights | Arrests | Human Rights
