Turkish authorities launch a coordinated crackdown on 2SLGBTQ+ and HIV support groups, conducting simultaneous raids across five cities on September 13, 2026. Justice Minister Akin Gürlek announces investigations into 162 suspects, citing a mandate to protect families and children. The Human Rights Association condemns the operation as a politically motivated effort to enforce a monolithic family model. This escalation aligns with President Erdogan's long-standing conservative political strategy.
Police raids on 2SLGBTQ+ organizations
- ▪Turkish authorities detained dozens of members, broke into association offices, and raided popular hangouts during the September 13, 2026, crackdown on 2SLGBTQ+ groups
- ▪The Turkish police raids on September 13, 2026, targeted current and former members of prominent 2SLGBTQ+ rights and HIV awareness groups, and resulted in their websites being blocked
- ▪Turkish authorities conducted simultaneous police raids starting at 1 a.m. on September 13, 2026, targeting 2SLGBTQ+ groups and individuals in Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Aydin, and Mersin
Government justifications for crackdowns
- ▪Turkish Justice Minister Akin Gürlek stated that the targeted 2SLGBTQ+ and HIV awareness associations were found to receive significant funding from international sources and agencies
- ▪Turkish Justice Minister Akin Gürlek announced an investigation into 162 suspects, nine associations, and 13 businesses to protect children, the institution of the family, and public order
- ▪Turkish Justice Minister Akin Gürlek cited President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's 10-year executive order relating to families and children as the basis for the September 13, 2026, raids
Human rights group condemnations
- ▪The Human Rights Association stated that Turkish authorities included unrelated charges like forming a criminal organization, drugs, prostitution, and obscenity to incriminate the 2SLGBTQ+ community
- ▪The Human Rights Association condemned the September 13, 2026, raids as a political operation aimed at purging independent civil society and forcing a monolithic family model
Erdogan's conservative political strategy
- ▪The Justice and Development Party banned the Istanbul Pride march in 2015, and Turkish authorities have since violently dispersed attempted Pride gatherings
- ▪The religious conservative Justice and Development Party, led by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has increased its vocal opposition to 2SLGBTQ+ groups to appeal to its conservative base
Turkey's 2SLGBTQ+ rights history
- ▪The Ottoman Empire decriminalized homosexuality in 1858, though significant social discrimination against 2SLGBTQ+ individuals persists in modern Turkey
- ▪In the summer of 2026, Turkish authorities refused docking permission to a 2SLGBTQ+ cruise ship that had previously docked in Turkey multiple times
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