Turkey: 150 arrested at protest against ban on LGBTQ+ groups

Turkish authorities arrested at least 150 people on Tuesday after police dispersed a rally outside a courthouse in Istanbul, which had been planned to protest recent arrests of LGBTQ+ groups, witnesses said.

The arrests mark the latest escalation in what human rights groups and opposition figures have described as a widening campaign against the LGBTQ+ community.

Last week, authorities raided association offices, blocked websites and jailed “suspects” in several areas across the country.

Today, Tuesday, a rally had been planned, which police prevented outside the courthouse.

Protesters were chanting “Long live the life that defies hatred” when police charged.

The protest followed sweeping raids targeting LGBTQI+ associations in several Turkish regions, as part of the “My Family Is Safe” operation, which according to the government aims to protect children and family values.

The Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights, Michael O’Flaherty, said he was concerned about the arrests, raids and internet restrictions targeting members of the LGBTQ+ community and human rights defenders.

He also noted that references to “family values” or “child protection” cannot by themselves justify restrictions on human rights, and called for the release of anyone detained for human rights or civil society work.

A Turkish court on Monday kept 16 people in prison, pending trial, in the western province of Izmir, as part of the operation, the local prosecutor’s office said.

Justice Minister Akin Gurlek said on Sunday that the investigations, coordinated by prosecutors in Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Aydin and Mersin, involved 162 suspects, nine associations and 13 businesses in 15 provinces.

Authorities arrested at least 26 people in Istanbul and 21 in Ankara over the weekend, while raiding the offices of several LGBTQ+ associations.

Turkish authorities have also blocked access to websites and social media accounts belonging to various LGBTQI+ associations, individuals and independent media, including the X account of Amnesty International’s Turkey branch.