On 13 September, I woke in southwest Türkiye to news of a large-scale operation targeting LGBTI organizations and human rights defenders across the country. Since then, police have arrested at least 116 people across 15 provinces following raids on homes, venues and the offices of LGBTI rights organizations. At least 83 people have been placed in pretrial detention and criminal investigations have been launched against more than 160 people. LGBTI rights organisations have reported allegations of intrusive strip searches, insults and humiliation as well as HRDs being held in isolation in violation of their rights. Hundreds of social media accounts belonging to LGBTI organizations and activists, journalists, media outlets and others have so far been blocked or restricted alongside a number of websites. Those affected include Amnesty International Türkiye’s X account.
As protest within Türkiye builds and international condemnation mounts, it is clear that the Turkish authorities have every intention of intensifying the crackdown
Milena Buyum, Amnesty International
The authorities have named this operation “Ailem Güvende” (“My Family Is Safe”) under the spurious guise of ‘protecting the family’. Yet as LGBTI activists and many others rightly point out, families in Türkiye are suffering poverty, insecurity and increased repression of their civil and political rights, while violence against women and girls is rife, including inside their homes. Far from protecting anyone, this sweeping crackdown has nothing to do with protecting families and everything to do with further harming and stigmatizing people who have battled decades of discrimination and intimidation.
As protest within Türkiye builds and international condemnation mounts, it is clear that the Turkish authorities have every intention of intensifying the crackdown. The Ministry of Justice has sent a circular to 175 chief public prosecutors in all of Türkiye’s 81 provinces, regarding content and acti
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