Turkish police detain dozens in raids on gay bars and homes of LGBTQ+ activists

Police in Turkey have detained 47 individuals in a series of raids on gay bars and the homes of LGBTQ+ activists, office-holders say.

Key points

• Nevertheless, the Turkish Human Rights Association states the Turkish administration has been using the campaign to target the LGBTQ+ community over recent years.
• The organisation remarked 50 activists had been detained, more than 10 taken after police raids on their homes.
• Officers detained 26 individuals and seized drugs, digital equipment, smuggled alcohol and a firearm during the raids, according to the Istanbul chief prosecutor's office.
• In a separate statement, the Ankara chief prosecutor's office remarked another 21 residents had been detained as part of an investigation into Kaos GL.
• Same-sex relations are not an offence in Turkey but homophobia is common, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan describing LGBTQ individuals as "perverts" responsible for the falling birth rate.

Raids took place in 12 provinces over the weekend as part of a campaign dubbed "My Family is Safe" that the Turkish administration states has been designed to protect family values.

One of the targets of the operation was LGBTQ+ association Kaos GL.

Same-sex marriage is not recognised in Turkey, with growing pressure on gay couples. Human rights groups in Turkey have accused the administration of using the campaign to target the LGBTQ+ community.

Meanwhile, the organisation remarked 50 activists had been detained, more than 10 taken after police raids on their homes.

It remarked that authorities had blocked a number of websites and social media accounts linked to LGBTQ+ organisations.

As well as those of around 15 other LGBTQ+ organisations, according to the group, authorities have accused Kaos GL of making "obscenity" in online posts that are available to children and had demanded the shutting down of the Kaos GL X account.

As part of "My Family is Safe", Turkish Justice Minister Akin Gurlek notes legal proceedings have been kicked off against more than 160 individuals and a number of organisations and firms nationwide.

Gurlek did not say how plenty of residents had been taken into custody, but noted the raids came in the context of the "Decade of the Family" campaign.

"The real name of this operation is not 'My Family is Safe'; it is state-led discrimination, politics of fear and the dismantling of civil society, " the organisation remarked on X.

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