Turkish police carried out co-ordinated overnight raids across more than a dozen provinces at the weekend, targeting LGBTQ+ associations, HIV support organisations, activists’ homes and nightlife venues, in an operation the government has named “My Family is Safe” (Ailem Güvende).
Justice minister Akın Gürlek said prosecutors in Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Aydın and Mersin were conducting investigations against 162 suspects, nine associations and 13 businesses in 15 provinces.
The aim, he said, was to “protect children, the institution of the family, and public order”, in line with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s “2026–2035 Decade of Family and Population” programme and a presidential circular.
“As per the duty to protect families and children given to the state by the constitution, no criminal organisation, abuse network or illegal activity which targets children, youths or families will be tolerated,” Gürlek wrote on social media.
Cumhurbaşkanımız Sayın Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’ın ortaya koyduğu 2026–2035 Aile ve Nüfus On Yılı vizyonu ve 2026/4 Sayılı Cumhurbaşkanlığı Genelgesi doğrultusunda; çocuklarımızı, aile kurumunu ve toplum düzenini korumaya yönelik çalışmalarımızı kararlılıkla sürdürüyoruz.
İstanbul,…
— Akın Gürlek (@abakingurlek) September 13, 2026
Prosecutors have cited alleged offences including forming an organisation to commit a crime, prostitution, obscenity and possession of narcotics.
The Istanbul chief public prosecutor’s office said investigators had obtained evidence that children and under-age young people were being “directed on issues of sexual orientation and gender identity” without regard to their age or development, and that the operation was intended to prevent such activity from being “regarded as normal in society”.
Same-sex relations are not a criminal offence in Turkey. Homosexuality was decriminalised in the Ottoman Empire in 1858.
Pride marches have, however, been banned or broken up for more than a decade, and senior officials have repeatedly framed LGBTQ+ advocacy as a threat to the family and to falling birth rates.
Raids began around 1am on Sunday in Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Aydın and Mersin, with related searches reported in other provinces including Antalya, Çanakkale, Balıkesir, Ordu, Elazığ, Kırşehir, Iğdır and Hatay.
Police entered association offices, private homes and venues in Istanbul’s Beyoğlu and Şişli districts.
The Istanbul prosecutor said 26 people were detained in a 12-province, Istanbul-centred sweep covering 38 addresses and 54 premises, including six LGBTQ+ associations and ten businesses.
The Ankara prosecutor’s office said a further 21 people were detained in a separate inquiry into Kaos GL, Turkey’s longest-established LGBTQ+ rights group.
Kaos GL said “nearly 50” rights defenders, board members, former officials and independent activists had been taken into custody or were facing interrogation.
In Izmir, prosecutors said 16 of 18 detainees were later remanded in custody.
Istanbul prosecutors said officers seized small quantities of narcotics, 2,000 bottles of illicit alcohol, an unlicensed handgun, cameras and mobile phones. Digital devices were also taken from association offices.
The operation was not confined to LGBTQ+ advocacy groups.
Police entered the offices of Pozitif Yaşam and Pozitif-İz, associations that work on HIV testing, treatment access and anti-stigma programmes.
Supervisory-board members of Pozitif-İz were among those detained, according to Turkish reporting.
A court also blocked the website and social-media accounts of CETAD, the Association for Sexual Education, Treatment and Research, a professional body of psychiatrists and psychologists rather than a campaign group.
The Turkish Psychiatric Association said associations “working to protect the rights, health and quality of life of people living with HIV, develop social awareness and fight stigma” had been targeted alongside LGBTQ+ organisations.
Among other groups named in official and civil-society accounts were Pembe Hayat, SPoD, Lambdaistanbul, LİSTAG, HEVİ, 17 Mayıs, Genç LGBTİ+ and ÜniKuir.
A day before the raids, the Istanbul 7th Penal Judgeship of Peace ordered access blocks on websites and social-media accounts linked to dozens of organisations and individuals, including Kaos GL, Pembe Hayat, SPoD, Lambdaistanbul and journalist Yıldız Tar.
Gürlek said the Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK) was examining large foreign transfers to some associations.
Pro-government newspapers later published MASAK figures putting transfers to six groups, including SPoD, Pozitif Yaşam and Pozitif-İz, at about $3.36 million over several years from embassies, EU-linked funds and international NGOs.
Between 2021-2026, 209 transfers were made from 37 sources including the US Embassy, the French Embassy, ILGA Europe, the European Endowment for Democracy and the German Marshall Fund.
Receiving declared foreign grants is lawful under Turkey’s Associations Law; prosecutors say they are examining whether the money is linked to the alleged offences.
Istanbul Medeniyet University Faculty Member Prof. Dr. Dr. Ahmet Akın stated to news outlet Sabah that LGBT lobbies are conducting intensive propaganda that leads to sexual identity confusion in children through cartoons, games, TV series and social media. Akın said that there are seriously funded global lobbies behind them and stated that these structures are targeting children and young people in particular.
Ankara prosecutors have accused Kaos GL of publishing “obscene” material accessible to children and of acting beyond the lawful scope of an association. Gürlek said the inquiries used undercover officers, technical surveillance, witness statements and digital evidence.
The Human Rights Association (İHD) rejected that framing. “This is not a judicial investigation; it is a political operation aimed at forcing society into a monolithic family model and purging LGBTI+ and independent civil society under the guise of protecting the family and children,” it said.
“To include unrelated charges such as ‘forming a criminal organisation,’ ‘drugs,’ ‘prostitution’ and ‘obscenity’ serves not to reveal the truth but to incriminate the entire community.”
A joint statement by LGBTQ+ associations said: “Being LGBTI+, founding an association and defending rights is not a crime.”
They asked: “When police arrive at the door of an LGBTI+ association, when a rights defender is taken from home at night, when a solidarity channel is blocked, which family has been made safe?”
Workers’ Party of Turkey leader Erkan Baş said those detained should be released immediately, “because existing is not a crime”.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has stated that joining the European Union is no longer a priority for Ankara, though he insisted the country has not closed the door on eventual membership. https://t.co/N6FwWBYTBl
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) August 17, 2026
