Executive Summary
Since 12 September 2026, Türkiye has witnessed an unprecedented wave of coordinated measures targeting LGBTI+ civil society, human rights defenders, activists and LGBTI+-associated venues.The developments began on 12 September with a court-ordered blocking of the websites and social media accounts of numerous LGBTI+ organisations, media platforms, student groups, rights defenders and activists. Only hours later, in the early morning of 13 September, police operations began simultaneously across multiple provinces.According to the latest information obtained from the field, nearly 50 LGBTI+ rights defenders, association executives and founders, members, former executives and independent activists have so far been detained or subjected to police procedures. The number remains subject to change as operations continue.Members of the legally mandated governing and oversight bodies of several LGBTI+ associations have been specifically targeted. These include principal and substitute members of boards of directors and boards of auditors. Association offices and private homes have been searched, electronic devices have been seized, and police entered some association premises with the assistance of locksmiths.According to a statement attributed to Minister of Justice Akın Gürlek, the operation, publicly referred to as “My Family is Safe”, encompasses 162 individuals, 9 associations and 13 businesses across 15 provinces and is being coordinated by the Chief Public Prosecutors’ Offices in Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Aydın and Mersin.The authorities have referred to allegations including “obscenity”, “facilitating prostitution or providing premises for prostitution”, exposure of children to allegedly obscene content, drug-related offences and other morality-related offences. Information from the field indicates that additional allegations, including forming a criminal organisation, may appear in some investigation files.The reported inclusion of the offence of “establishing an organisation for the purpose of committing crimes” under Article 220 of the Turkish Criminal Code is particularly alarming and, if confirmed, would mark a significant escalation in the criminalisation of LGBTI+ human rights activism. While LGBTI+ activists and organisations have recently faced and continue to face investigations and prosecutions on grounds such as “obscenity” and alleged violations of the Law on Associations, the use of an organised-crime allegation represents a qualitatively more serious threshold, both in terms of the gravity of the accusation and the potential penalties involved.Of particular concern, the authorities have also publicly linked the investigations to the financial activities and foreign funding of LGBTI+ organisations. According to the Minister’s statement, the Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK) is examining transfers received by certain associations from public institutions and foreign organisations and their alleged relationship to the activities under investigation.Taken together, these measures do not appear as isolated investigative steps, but rather as a coordinated pattern of interference targeting the organisational capacity, public visibility, financial sustainability and day-to-day functioning of LGBTI+ civil society in Türkiye. The blocking of digital platforms, simultaneous detention of association representatives, searches of civil society offices, seizure of institutional and personal digital equipment, and scrutiny of lawful international funding collectively risk paralysing organisations, deterring participation and support, and creating a profound chilling effect on the exercise of freedom of association and legitimate human rights work.