By: Paul Goldberg – Senior Correspondent | LGBTQ Politics Asia

ISTANBUL, TURKEY — (September 13, 2026) — Turkish authorities have detained at least 47 people in a sweeping series of raids targeting LGBTQ organizations, activists and other locations as the government intensifies a campaign it says is designed to protect traditional family values.




The weekend operations stretched across 12 Turkish provinces, according to prosecutors, marking a dramatic escalation in pressure on the country’s LGBTQ community. Reuters reports that Istanbul prosecutors targeted 38 suspects and detained 26 people, while a separate Ankara investigation resulted in another 21 detentions connected to prominent LGBTQ rights organization Kaos GL. Five additional people were reportedly being sought.

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Authorities said drugs, digital equipment, smuggled alcohol and a firearm were seized during the Istanbul operations. Prosecutors have framed the investigations around allegations including prostitution and obscenity.

Kaos GL Targeted as LGBTQ Websites and Accounts Are Blocked

The crackdown extends beyond physical raids.

Kaos GL says at least 50 activists have been detained, including more than 10 people taken during police raids on their homes. The organization also says Turkish authorities have blocked access to dozens of websites and social-media accounts associated with LGBTQ organizations, activists and rights advocates.

The conflicting totals reflect different counts: prosecutors have publicly confirmed at least 47 detentions, while Kaos GL reports at least 50 activists detained. JRL CHARTS is therefore using the independently confirmed figure of 47 in its headline while noting Kaos GL’s higher estimate.




‘My Family is Safe’ Campaign Expands

The raids are associated with the government’s “My Family is Safe” campaign and come as President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan promotes a broader “Decade of Family and Population” initiative focused on declining birth rates and Turkey’s aging population.

The scope extends substantially beyond this weekend’s confirmed arrests. Justice Minister Akin Gurlek said investigations coordinated by prosecutors in Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Aydin and Mersin involve judicial proceedings against 162 suspects, nine associations and 13 businesses across 15 provinces.

Same-sex relations are legal in Turkey, but same-sex marriage is not recognized, and LGBTQ rights organizations have documented mounting government restrictions and hostile political rhetoric.




Rights Groups Condemn Sweeping Raids

Human-rights advocates characterize the operations very differently from the government.

The Turkish Human Rights Association accused authorities of engaging in state-led discrimination and dismantling civil society, while Nacho Sánchez Amor, the European Parliament’s standing rapporteur on Turkey, described the arrests as a major escalation and argued that imposing a government-backed moral agenda violates fundamental rights and Turkey’s international commitments.

Turkish prosecutors, meanwhile, allege there is evidence that children and minors have been improperly influenced on matters involving sexual orientation and gender identity. The investigations remain active.




The rapidly expanding operation places Turkey’s treatment of LGBTQ citizens and organizations back under international scrutiny, with the number of people, organizations and businesses facing proceedings suggesting the crackdown could extend well beyond this weekend’s raids.

JRL CHARTS LGBTQ Politics Asia will continue monitoring the Turkey LGBTQ crackdown, the Kaos GL investigation and international response as this developing story unfolds.




Paul Goldberg
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