Turkish police detain dozens outside Istanbul courthouse following nationwide LGBTQ+ raids

Courthouse dispersal and detentions

Turkish police surrounded and broke up a demonstration outside the Caglayan courthouse in Istanbul on Tuesday, detaining dozens of participants who had gathered to oppose a nationwide sweep against LGBTQ+ organizations. Demonstrators held banners stating that being LGBTQ+ and organizing is not a crime, chanting slogans before officers declared the gathering illegal over loudspeakers. Arrest estimates from the courthouse vary across sources, ranging between 80 and 90 according to the Progressive Lawyers' Association and the newspaper Cumhuriyet, 91 in Turkish media reports cited by German outlets, and at least 150 according to witnesses cited by Reuters. Those detained outside the courthouse included at least two journalists, specifically a reporter for the daily newspaper BirGun and a Turkish employee of the German public broadcaster ARD. The Journalists' Union of Turkey rejected what it termed the criminalization of journalism following the arrests.

Scope of the My Family is Safe operation

The Tuesday protest followed weekend police raids coordinated under an operation named "My Family is Safe." Justice Minister Akin Gurlek stated that the operation targeted 162 suspects, nine associations, and 13 businesses across 15 provinces, coordinated by chief public prosecutors' offices in Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Aydin, and Mersin. Government officials stated that the measures were designed to protect children, public order, and the institution of the family. Weekend police actions involved raids on association offices, private residences, and commercial venues, resulting in about 70 detentions, with Amnesty International recording at least 60 arrests. On Monday, a court in the western province of Izmir ordered 16 detainees held in pre-trial detention.

Digital restrictions and policy background

Alongside physical detentions, Turkish authorities blocked digital platforms, including the website of KAOS GL, one of the country's oldest LGBTQ+ rights organizations, and roughly 20 accounts on the social platform X. The restricted accounts included the official feed of Amnesty International's Turkish branch, alongside pages belonging to feminist and human rights groups. A separate journalist detained on Sunday night over reporting on the LGBTQ+ movement in Georgia was scheduled for a prosecutorial hearing on Tuesday. The government framed the crackdown within the Decade of Family and Population initiative, a national policy announced in May 2025 to address declining birth rates and promote traditional family structures. Turkish authorities have banned Istanbul Pride since 2015, and in the summer of 2026, officials denied docking permission to a Mediterranean LGBTQ+ cruise ship.

Civil society and international response

The crackdown drew condemnation from European human rights bodies and Turkish civil society groups. Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Michael O'Flaherty called for the immediate release of those detained for civil society work.

Mere references to "family values" or "protection of children" cannot serve as legal justification for human rights restrictions.

In Turkey, 120 women's rights organizations signed a joint statement opposing the government operation, arguing that the measures represent an effort to suppress civic organization. Yildiz Taghizade of the group Women for Women's Human Rights stated that the policy seeks to exclude LGBTQ+ citizens from the public sphere.

The aim is not only to target LGBTQ+ people, but to practically ban the LGBTQ+ community from engaging in politics, getting organized, claiming rights and showing presence in the public sphere.

Protesters outside the courthouse echoed these objections, noting the growing official rhetoric against sexual minorities.

We are going through a period where there is an attempt by the ruling power to portray LGBT+ people as the cause of every problem in this society.