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.
Many were around Istanbul and Ankara. Istanbul and Izmir, quoted by the state news agency Anadolu, at least 63 people were detained, according to prosecutors in Ankara. LGBTQ and women’s rights activists form one of the main centres of resistance to the Islamist-rooted conservative government in power since 2002.
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. 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. 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”. 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.
