LGBTI+ rights activists in Turkey seek international support during crackdown
Turkey continues arrests of dozens of LGBT Turks, activists, supporters, journalists
LGBTI+ rights activists in Turkey (Turkiye) are seeking international support against the Turkish government’s sudden crackdown against the local LGBTI+ community.
An appeal began Sept. 15 for organizations to sign a protest letter titled “Stop the Criminalisation of the LGBTI+ Movement in Turkey”.
Also on Sept. 15, Turkish police arrested dozens of peaceful protesters outside an Istanbul courthouse where they were opposing the crackdown that began Sept. 12.
Dozens of feminist and LGBTI+ human rights defenders, including lawyers, have been detained, said Nayuk N. Mayuk, an LGBTI+ rights and feminist activist in Turkey.
Since Sept. 12, LGBTI+ organisations and human rights defenders across Turkey have faced raids, detentions, digital restrictions and criminal investigations, she added.
Agence France-Presse and Le Monde reported that before police arrested 91 of the protesters, by their lawyers’ count, the protesters were chanting “Long live the struggle for freedom!,” “Free those detained immediately!” and “Despite hatred, long live life!”
The demonstration followed sweeping police raids in several cities over the weekend in which police arrested dozens as part of what the government says is President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s “Decade of the Family” initiative. Turkey’s LGBTQ community has increasingly come under pressure from the authorities, with Erdogan describing it as a “deviant movement” of “perverts.”
In Istanbul, police surrounded the protesters and repeatedly warned them over a loudspeaker that the gathering was “illegal.” Before the group, which unfurled a banner reading “Being LGBTQ is not a crime,” could issue a statement, police moved in and detained them, AFP journalists said.
Two journalists, one working for the BirGun daily and the other for Germany’s ARD television, were among those detained while covering the rally, the Turkish Journalists’ Union said. “We do not accept the criminalisation of journalism,” it said on X.
The pro-LGBTQ protests were triggered by the arrest of dozens of people on Sunday in gay bars and at the homes of LGBTQ activists on charges including “obscenity,” “assisting prostitution” and having “financial links abroad.” Authorities have also blocked social media accounts belonging to human rights defenders and media outlets as part of operations dubbed “My Family Is Safe.”
The European Union, on Monday, voiced concern over the arrests and urged Ankara to ensure respect for human rights. “We do not approve of using the judicial system as a tool for wholesale punishment based on people’s sexual orientations and preferences,” Zeynel Emre, spokesperson for the opposition Yeni Parti, told a news conference.
Turkey’s pro-Kurdish DEM party on Tuesday denounced Sunday’s arrests, saying “repression” undermined the peace process it is mediating between Ankara and PKK militants. “The language of peace cannot go hand in hand with repression,” the party said on X.
“This alarming surge under Turkey’s pressure is a full-scale assault on LGBTI+ rights and those who support them,” Amnesty International said. “We call on the Turkish authorities to put an end to this wave of repression, ensure the immediate release of all those detained simply for exercising their human rights, and guarantee that LGBTI+ advocates and associations can exercise their rights without discrimination, criminalisation, harassment, or retaliation.”
Justice Minister Akin Gurlek has vowed to continue the campaign, brushing off concerns voiced by the European Union. Same-sex relations are not a criminal offence in Turkey, but homophobia is prevalent, including at the highest levels of the state.
The Turkish activists’ protest letter states, in part:
We are alarmed by signs that legitimate civil society activities are being falsely labeled as criminal, including accusations related to obscenity, prostitution, drugs, and morality. The prosecution is attempting to create a narrative that LGBTI+ civil society organisations and human rights defenders are part of a criminal organisation. Viewing advocacy, publications, or fundraising as organized crime represents a serious escalation of repression of civic space.
We are also worried that lawful domestic and international funding of LGBTI+ groups is being seen as suspicious. Such funding is legal and necessary, already regulated by Turkish law, and should not be considered evidence of criminality.
In Turkey, the receipt of funding by civil society organisations (associations and foundations) from abroad and from international organisations is subject to very strict oversight by the General Directorate of Relations with Civil Society, which reports to the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Turkey.
The blocking of digital platforms, raids, detentions, equipment seizures, targeting of associations, and scrutiny of lawful funding create a chilling effect on freedom of association, expression, and human rights. These actions are part of a broader anti-gender politics rooted in patriarchy, aiming to control bodies, identities, and relationships. The struggles for LGBTI+ and women’s rights are interconnected, confronting the same patriarchal systems, and attacks on one strengthen attacks on all.
This moment therefore requires more than the protection of fundamental rights. It requires an unequivocal rejection of using “family”, “morality” and gender conformity as instruments to determine whose identities, relationships, speech and freedom of association are considered legitimate.
