Turkish police on Sunday swooped on gay bars and the homes of LGBTQ activists, arresting at least 60 people in raids authorities said were aimed at boosting traditional family values, officials and activists said.
Turkey's LGBTQ community has frequently been targeted by the government, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan lashing it as a "deviant movement" of "perverts" responsible for the falling birth rate.
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Sunday's raid came a day after the accounts of more than a dozen Turkish LGBTQ organisations were blocked on X at the request of the authorities, according to a watchdog.
"As part of the 'My Family is Safe' operations... carried out in collaboration with our police and gendarmerie forces, legal proceedings have been initiated against 162 suspects, 9 organisations and 13 companies in... a total of 15 provinces," Justice Minister Akin Gurlek posted on X. Many were around Istanbul and Ankara.
Gurlek said the raids were part of the "Decade of the Family" proclaimed by Erdogan, aimed at "protecting our children, the institution of the family and social order".
According to prosecutors in Ankara, Istanbul and Izmir, quoted by the state news agency Anadolu, at least 63 people were detained.
LGBTQ and women's rights activists form one of the main centres of resistance to the Islamist-rooted conservative government in power since 2002.
In Istanbul, police raided several gay bars and a nightclub regarded as a haven for the LGBTQ community, according to video footage from pro-government media.
Also targeted was a men's hammam reputed to be a venue for prostitution.
LGBTQ rights organisation Kaos GL, whose offices were searched and whose leaders were taken into custody, earlier stated that "nearly 50 defenders of the rights of LGBTQ people (...) have been taken into custody or are subject to legal proceedings involving interrogations or detentions" across the country.
According to the group, judicial authorities in Ankara had alleged that Kaos GL made "posts containing obscenity" on its website and social media channels and that the content was accessible to children.
While same-sex relations are not a criminal offence in Turkey, homophobia is widespread.
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Blatant violation
The EU on Monday expressed concern about police raids targeting Turkey's LGBTQ community and urged Ankara to ensure respect for human rights.
"The commission is concerned about the recent arrests and legal proceedings initiated against LGBTIQ+ activists, human rights associations, and businesses," said Christian Wigand, a spokesman for the European Commission. "We are following developments closely."
On Sunday, the EU parliament's rapporteur on Turkey condemned the arrests as "a shocking escalation in the repression" in the country Turkey. Turkey's efforts to join the EU have been frozen in recent years, but it remains a key trade and political partner.
"This imposition of a moral agenda is a blatant violation of fundamental rights & Turkey's international commitments taking the country down a dark path," Nacho Sanchez Amor wrote on X.
"Existence cannot be banned or restricted. LGBTI+ rights are human rights!" Ozgul Saki, an MP from the pro-Kurdish left-wing DEM party in Istanbul, said on X.
The Human Rights Association condemned the raids. “This is not a judicial investigation; it is a political operation aimed at forcing society into a monolithic family model and purging LGBTI+ and independent civil society under the guise of protecting the family and children," it said.
The religious conservative Justice and Development Party (AKP) has been increasingly vocal against LGBTQ+ groups to play up to the more conservative elements of its base. In 2015, it banned Istanbul Pride, which had tens of thousands of attendees in previous years prior. Since then, authorities have violently dispersed any attempted gatherings for Pride.
This summer, an LGBTQ+ cruise ship that tours the Mediterranean and has docked in Turkey multiple times in the past was refused permission to dock there.
While the Ottoman Empire, the predecessor to the modern republic of Turkey, decriminalised homosexuality in 1858, there is still significant social discrimination.
(the broadcaster with AFP and AP)
