Dozens reportedly arrested during gay bar and home raids in Turkey
Authorities have blocked several LGBTQ+ websites and social media accounts following the arrests
By Aaron Sugg
An estimated 43 people have been arrested in Turkey after police raids took place across the country over the weekend, targeting gay bars and the homes of LGBTQ+ activists.
The raids reportedly took place across 12 provinces as part of the government’s 2026 “My Family is Safe” campaign, which authorities say is aimed at protecting “family values”.
Detainees reportedly face “morality” and “obscenity” charges as part of a wider government campaign targeting 162 people, nine associations and 13 businesses.
Organisations affected by the raids in Turkey
Organisations reportedly targeted include Kaos GL, SPoD, Lambda, HEVİ, LİSTAG, Pozitif Yaşam, Pozitif-iz, Muamma and 7 Renk, with several gay bars raided and sex workers detained.
Authorities have blocked several LGBTQ+ websites and social media accounts belonging to Turkish groups and businesses, including Kaos GL’s X account.
ILGA-Europe and TGEU condemned the actions on social media, describing them as a “systematic” attack on the LGBTQ+ community: “LGBTI organising is not a crime. Human rights work is not a crime.”
Campaigners call on the EU for aid
“ILGA-Europe and TGEU call on the EU and European governments to urgently raise these cases with the authorities in Turkey; monitor the detention and judicial proceedings; and activate available protection, legal and emergency support for those affected,” the groups wrote on social media.
They urged European public funders to maintain funding for Turkish civil society organisations and called on LGBTQ+ groups and allies across Europe and Central Asia to raise political pressure and provide support.
“This must be treated as a wider attack on freedom of association, expression and human rights defence, not as an isolated LGBTI issue,” they wrote.
Turkey and LGBTQ+ rights
The raids are part of an ongoing pattern in Turkish political history, as authorities seemingly attempt to push an anti-LGBTQ+ agenda on the population. This year, police detained approximately 50 people at a Pride event in Istanbul after a decade-long ban.
While homosexuality is not illegal in Turkey, queer people face increasing threats. With no comprehensive anti-discrimination laws in place and anti-gay rhetoric often used by the country’s politicians, human rights organisations have called, and continue to call, for action.