Turkish authorities have launched a sweeping crackdown on the country's LGBT community, detaining 116 people across 15 provinces, raiding gay bars, and shutting down activist organizations. The government has framed the actions as part of an effort to protect family values and public morality.
According to Amnesty International, Turkish authorities have also launched investigations into more than 160 people and blocked or restricted 180 social media accounts belonging to LGBT organizations, activists, journalists, and media outlets. The crackdown represents an unprecedented escalation in the government's targeting of the LGBT community.
Turkey's Minister of Justice, Akın Gürlek, said in a statement posted on X that the government is «steadfastly continuing our efforts to protect the family, our children and our youth from all forms of exploitation, obscenity, crime and harmful content.» Gürlek stated that the Ministry of Justice sent a comprehensive directive to the 175 chief public prosecutor's offices across all 81 provinces to pursue content and behavior deemed opposed to «public morality» and harmful to the country's youth.
«The best interests of our children are not open to debate for us. We will show no tolerance for any criminal organization targeting the institution of the family, the future of our youth, and the order of our society,» Gürlek said.
Amnesty International condemned the crackdown in strong terms. «This appalling escalation in Türkiye's crackdown amounts to a full-scale assault on LGBTI rights and those who defend them,» said Esther Major, Amnesty International's Deputy Regional Director for Europe. «The relentless raids, arrests and demonization of LGBTI people under the spurious guise of 'protecting the families' demonstrates why defending LGBTI rights in Türkiye is more important than ever.»
The crackdown is part of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's broader «Decade of Family and Population» vision, a long-term strategy aimed at tracking population trends and promoting an increased fertility rate to spur population growth. Analysts say Erdogan's renewed emphasis on family values and his targeting of groups portrayed as threats to those values is an effort to cement his legacy as he approaches another election in 2028.
«Erdoğan's 'family values' agenda is about more than defending conservative values, it is about defining what kind of society Turkey should be and who belongs in it,» Gonul Tol, senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, told Fox News Digital. «The LGBT community is a particularly useful target because Erdoğan can portray it simultaneously as a threat to the traditional family, a Western import, and a symbol of the cultural values he says his movement is fighting against.»
Protests against the crackdown have begun to take shape. Police used pepper spray against peaceful protesters in İzmir, along Turkey's Aegean coast, and detained more than 95 people on Tuesday who had gathered outside the İstanbul Courthouse in protest.
International condemnation has also intensified. A European Commission spokesperson told Fox News Digital that the Commission is concerned about the recent arrests and legal proceedings initiated against LGBTIQ+ activists, human rights associations, and businesses, as well as the blocking of websites and social media accounts. «We are following developments closely,» the spokesperson said.
The Commission reiterated that Turkey, as an EU candidate since 1999 and a member of the Council of Europe, should promote and ensure respect for the human rights and dignity of all individuals, regardless of gender or sexual identity.
A spokesman for the Turkish embassy in Washington, D.C., did not respond to requests for comment, nor did the U.S. Embassy in Ankara or the State Department.
The crackdowns show no signs of letting up, even as international attention and condemnation continue to pour in. The actions mark a significant escalation in the Turkish government's efforts to reshape society along conservative lines, with the LGBT community serving as a primary target in that campaign.