Turkey anti-LGBTQ crackdown 2026
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Turkish authorities launch anti-LGBTQ raids, detaining dozens
Kaos GL said nearly 50 LGBTQ rights defenders were taken into custody or subject to legal proceedings.
Judicial authorities in Ankara accused Kaos GL of publishing “posts containing obscenity” online, according to the rights group.
The European Parliament’s rapporteur on Turkiye, Nacho Sanchez Amor, condemned the detentions as a “shocking escalation in the repression”.
Turkish police raid gay bars and LGBTQ+ activist homes
The Istanbul chief prosecutor's office said officers detained 26 people and seized drugs, digital equipment, smuggled alcohol, and a firearm during the raids.
Kaos GL, an LGBTQ+ association, was one of the targets of the operation.
Turkish Justice Minister Akin Gurlek said legal proceedings have been started against more than 160 people and a number of organisations and companies across the country as part of "My Family is Safe."