Turkish law enforcement agencies have initiated a widespread, multi-city crackdown targeting non-governmental organizations dedicated to LGBTQ+ rights, culminating in the detention of at least 26 individuals. The coordinated operation, which unfolded across several major metropolitan centers, represents one of the most direct enforcement actions against queer civil society groups in the country to date.
The detentions were formally disclosed on Sunday by Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency, which cited details released by public prosecutors overseeing the judicial process. According to the state media report, the police actions were carried out following earlier investigations into the activities and operations of several civil society organizations working on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender advocacy.
Law enforcement personnel executed search warrants and conducted simultaneous raids across a total of 38 separate locations. These targeted sites included the official administrative offices of advocacy groups, private workplaces, and individual residential properties. The sweeping physical raids were aimed at securing organizational materials and detaining designated individuals named in judicial warrants.
The operational scope of the crackdown extended across several of Turkey's most prominent urban hubs. Raids were concentrated not only in the country's largest city, Istanbul, but also in the capital city of Ankara, as well as the major Aegean coastal hub of İzmir and the Mediterranean resort city of Antalya. Authorities indicated that the geographically diverse locations were central to the functioning of the targeted advocacy networks.
Judicial and police officials confirmed that the crackdown remains active, noting that law enforcement teams continue to search for additional suspects connected to the investigated organizations. The search efforts suggest that the total number of individuals brought into custody could increase as investigations proceed across the affected provinces.
Prosecutors officially designated the coordinated police sweeps as the "My Family Is Safe" operation. This operational title reflects the ideological framing employed by authorities, who have characterized the legal offensive as a critical measure designed to insulate domestic structures and social norms from specific civil society influences.
The formal legal justification behind the raids encompasses a broad series of severe criminal accusations. Prosecutors revealed that investigations had previously been opened into allegations concerning the establishment of an organization for the purpose of committing crimes, alongside separate accusations involving prostitution and obscenity. Additionally, authorities cited alleged drug possession within the legal scope of the cases.
A primary pillar of the prosecution's case centers on the claim that the targeted organizations were actively influencing minors. The prosecutor’s office asserted that investigators had secured evidence demonstrating that the groups' programs and activities exerted an influence over children and teenagers regarding their sexual orientation and gender identity.
According to statements released by the prosecutor's office, the primary intent of the extensive police actions is to ensure that LGBTQ+ identities and advocacy are prevented from being regarded as normal within wider Turkish society. Prosecutors asserted that the intervention was executed for the direct benefit of children and to preserve both the institution of the family and shared moral values.
The prominent Turkish rights group Kaos GL, which advocates on behalf of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and the broader queer community, announced publicly on the social platform X that its headquarters had been raided by police officers. The organization confirmed that law enforcement personnel entered its central offices and placed multiple members of its governing board under arrest during the sweep.
The physical police operations were accompanied by digital restrictions. On the day preceding the public announcement of the arrests, the Istanbul-based Freedom of Expression Association, widely known as İFÖD, documented that social media accounts associated with the targeted LGBTQ+ rights groups had been blocked by administrative and judicial orders.
The widespread operation marks an escalation in the persistent pressure faced by Turkey's queer community under the administration of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Over recent years, civil rights organizations have reported an increasingly hostile operating environment characterized by mounting institutional resistance, bureaucratic obstacles, and legal scrutiny directed at non-governmental initiatives.
State restrictions on LGBTQ+ public assembly have been firmly established for nearly a decade. The annual Istanbul Pride march, once a widely attended gathering in the country's cultural capital, has been subject to continuous government bans since 2015, preventing public demonstrations and leading to recurring confrontations with law enforcement.
Furthermore, high-ranking government officials, including President Erdoğan himself, have routinely and publicly delivered openly anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric. These ongoing public statements have consistently positioned queer advocacy as fundamentally contrary to traditional social values, providing the political backdrop against which law enforcement operations like "My Family Is Safe" are carried out.
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