Turkey arrests dozens in sweeping LGBTQ crackdown as Erdogan targets ‘perverts’

Turkish authorities have launched a widespread crackdown on LGBTQ organizations and activists, detaining at least 47 individuals in raids across multiple cities, including Istanbul and Ankara. The operation, code-named “My Family is Safe,” began on Sunday and targeted advocacy offices, private homes, and nightlife venues. Justice Minister Akın Gürlek stated that investigations were opened into 162 suspects, nine organizations, and 13 businesses, alleging the operation aims to “protect children, the institution of the family and public order.”

• The raids targeted current and former activists affiliated with LGBTQ rights and HIV awareness groups.
• Authorities blocked websites and social media accounts of several organizations, seizing drugs, digital equipment, and firearms.
• Turkey’s Human Rights Association condemned the raids as a “political operation aimed at imposing a single model of the family on society and purging the LGBTQ+ community.”
• The European Parliament’s standing rapporteur on Turkey, Nacho Sánchez Amor, described the mass arrests as a “shocking escalation” and a “blatant violation of fundamental rights.”