TUR 001 / 0926 / OBS 045
Arbitrary detention /
Criminalisation
Judicial harassment /
Restriction to freedom of association
23 September 2026
Turkey
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a partnership of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Turkey.
Description of the situation:
The Observatory has been informed of a wave of raids and arbitrary detentions targeting LGBTQI+ human rights defenders and their organisations in Turkey, including Kaos GL, Muamma LGBTQI+ Association, Mersin 7 Renk LGBTQI+ Solidarity Association, SPoD, HEVİ LGBTQI+ Association, Lambdaistanbul, LİSTAG, as well as two organisations working with people living with HIV, Pozitif Yaşam and Pozitif-iz. Overall, the operation — launched at midnight on 12 September 2026 — extended across five provinces: Izmir, Aydın, Ankara, Mersin and Istanbul. In addition to LGBTQI+ rights defenders, tens of people, the majority of them LGBTQI+ persons -in particular trans women-, were detained in a mass operation dubbed “My Family is Safe” by the Minister of Justice.
From 1 a.m. on 13 September 2026, simultaneous raids were carried out on the homes of 14 elected full and reserve members of the board of directors and supervisory board of Kaos GL, an association based in Ankara, who were taken into custody. Seven of them have since been formally arrested. Kaos GL’s premises were also searched. In addition to Kaos GL’s board members, one journalist who once wrote an article for Kaos GL regarding LGBTI+ rights in Georgia was arrested. Association founders were arrested under charges of obscenity under Article 226 of the Turkish Penal Code, and violating Article 32/p of the Law on Associations by “establishing associations for the purpose of carrying out acts whose purpose or subject matter is explicitly prohibited by the Constitution and laws or constitutes a crime”, which carries a prison sentence of 1 to 3 years and a judicial fine. The arrest decisions reportedly cited the individuals’ roles within the association, the association’s social media posts, and the risk of flight or of tampering with evidence.
In the night of 12 to 13 September 2026 in Istanbul, a first wave of operations targeted nightclubs and massage parlours in the Beyoğlu and Şişli districts (Taksim, Cihangir, İstiklal Avenue), followed in the morning by a second wave of raids on association premises. The premises of SPoD and the HEVİ LGBTQI+ Association were entered by police; those of the Pozitif Yaşam Association and the Pozitif-iz Association were entered with the assistance of a locksmith. The premises of Lambdaistanbul, LİSTAG and Kaos GL were also searched, with police reportedly forcing entry into the premises of Lambdaistanbul and LİSTAG. Founding members of SPoD, Lambdaistanbul, HEVİ, LİSTAG, Pozitif-iz and Pozitif Yaşam were also taken into custody. Electronic equipment and digital storage media (phones, computers, tablets, USB drives) were seized at the homes of those targeted, at association premises, and at some workplaces, across several cities. Fifteen of those detained are activists, 14 of whom are founders of these associations. On 16 September 2026, 20 of those brought before the court were arrested — including 10 LGBTQI+ rights defenders — while the rest were released under judicial control. According to the reasoning given for these arrests, the associations’ "institutional structure was used as an instrument in carrying out acts/activities directed at children, weakening the essence of the Turkish family structure [and] acting in violation of the purposes outlined in the association’s bylaws to encourage, promote, and popularize lesbian, gay, bisexual, transvestite, and transsexuality tendencies through fund-raising and organizing various events”. Association founders were arrested under charges of violating Article 32/p of the Law on Associations.
On 13 September 2026 in Mersin, 34 people were detained; 26 were arrested and eight released under judicial control. Six of those arrested are office-holders of the Muamma LGBTQI+ Association and the Mersin 7 Renk LGBTQI+ Solidarity Association, among them one lawyer, who were arrested under charges of violating Article 32/p of the Law on Associations.
On 13 September 2026 in İzmir, 20 people were detained; 18 were subsequently arrested on allegations including "obscenity" and "prostitution" under the Turkish Penal Code, while two were placed under judicial control. Two further people were arrested the following day. In Kuşadası (Aydın province), six people were detained and five arrested on similar allegations, including two LGBTQI+ activists.
As of 17 September 2026, 11 a.m. local time, at least 116 people had been detained in connection with these operations, including 44 LGBTQI+ human rights defenders, and the relevant judicial proceedings regarding detentions in all provinces concerned had reportedly been completed. Of the total detained, 82 people were arrested and placed in pre-trial detention, including 25 LGBTQI+ rights defenders — 20 of them affiliated with LGBTQI+ organisations, two with HIV-related organisations, two independent activists, and one journalist — under charges of violating the Law on Associations and of obscenity under Article 226 of the Turkish Penal Code. Of the remaining 19 LGBTQI+ rights defenders detained, 17 were released under judicial supervision, one was released on age or health grounds, and one further release on the same grounds was expected at the time of writing.
Previously, during the day and evening of 12 September 2026, anniversary of the 1980 military coup, the Istanbul 7th Criminal Judgeship of Peace had ordered in decision no. 2026/9559 the blocking of access to the websites and a large number of social media accounts belonging to LGBTQI+ associations, media outlets, student groups and human rights defenders. On 13 September 2026, the Bakırköy 4th Criminal Judgeship of Peace separately ordered, in decision no. 2026/9112 D.İş., the blocking of KaosGL1.org. Access restrictions have since extended beyond LGBTQI+ organisations, affecting the social media accounts of, among others, the newspaper Evrensel, Amnesty International Türkiye, Academics for Peace and the Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA).
Justice Minister Akın Gürlek stated on X that judicial proceedings had been launched against 162 people, 9 associations and 13 businesses as part of an operation entitled "My Family is Safe" ("Ailem Güvende"), coordinated by the Chief Public Prosecutors’ Offices of Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Aydın and Mersin. According to remarks attributed to him in the press, the charges concern "facilitating prostitution or providing premises for prostitution" and "producing and disseminating obscene content" made accessible to children; some case files reportedly also include allegations relating to forming a criminal organisation and to drug-related offences. The Istanbul Governor’s Office has reportedly notified the Public Prosecutor’s Office of a request for the temporary suspension and dissolution of four associations : SPoD, Lambdaistanbul, LİSTAG and HEVİ LGBTI+.
The Justice Minister further stated that reviews by the Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK) had found that large sums had been transferred to certain associations from public institutions and foreign organisations abroad, and that the source of these funds and their connection to the activities under investigation were being examined. However, the MASAK report in the case file shows that these funds were legally received and duly declared to the Ministry of Interior in accordance with the Law on Associations.
On 14 September 2026, the Ministry of Justice issued a circular to the 175 Chief Public Prosecutor’s Offices across all 81 provinces of Turkey, instructing them to open investigations into content and activities deemed contrary to "public morality" and harmful to families, children and young people, and explicitly targeting "activities encouraging children and young people toward genderlessness". The Observatory is gravely concerned that this circular establishes a nationwide legal and administrative framework liable to normalise the use of criminal law against legitimate LGBTQI+ rights-based activities well beyond the associations currently targeted, and to trigger further waves of investigations.
The Observatory is further concerned that the right to freedom of peaceful assembly of those protesting against this crackdown has also come under attack. At least 125 protesters have reportedly been detained across Ankara, Istanbul and Izmir since 15 September, including, on 16 September, at least 105 people — among them lawyers and journalists — detained while gathering outside the Istanbul courthouse, and held overnight in three separate police stations, before being released the following day, on 17 September. In Ankara, 17 people were detained during the protest on 16 September and were released the same day following statement procedures.
The Observatory recalls that this operation takes place against a backdrop of growing restrictions on Turkey’s LGBTQI+ movement, marked in recent years by the systematic banning of Pride marches, repeated waves of social media blocking orders, and hostile government rhetoric equating the rights of LGBTQI+ people with a threat to "the family". The Observatory also recalls that Kaos GL, SPoD, Lambdaistanbul and the other associations targeted are established organisations with a long record of human rights work, of combating discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity, and, for some of them, of HIV-related health prevention work.
The Observatory expresses grave concern at the coordinated character, scale and simultaneity of these operations which appear designed to systematically obstruct the functioning of Turkey’s LGBTQI+ civil society.
The Observatory is gravely concerned for the physical safety of those held in pre-trial detention, in a context marked by hate speech and stigmatising statements against LGBQTI+ rights defenders by government officials - including Justice Minister Akın Gürlek - and by pro-government media, as well as by concerns over prison conditions. The Observatory calls for Turkish authorities to immediately and unconditionally release anyone detained solely on account of their peaceful human rights activities and cease all forms of harassment, including judicial harassment and digital repression , against LGBTQI+ rights defenders in Turkey.
Actions requested
The Observatory urges the Turkish authorities to:
– Guarantee in all circumstances the physical and psychological integrity of all human rights defenders detained in connection with this operation;
– Immediately and unconditionally release anyone detained solely on account of their membership of the governing or supervisory bodies of the associations concerned, or of their peaceful human rights activities;
– Put an end to all forms of harassment, including judicial harassment, against Kaos GL, Muamma LGBTQI+, Mersin 7 Renk LGBTQI+ Solidarity Association, SPoD, Lambda, HEVİ, LİSTAG, Pozitif Yaşam, Pozitif-iz, and all defenders of the rights of LGBTQI+ people in Turkey and refrain from pursuing dissolution proceedings against these associations;
– Immediately lift all blocking orders against the websites and social media accounts of the associations, defenders, journalists and human rights organisations affected in this context;
– Withdraw, or refrain from implementing, the Ministry of Justice circular of 14 September 2026 insofar as it targets legitimate LGBTQI+ rights-based activities, advocacy, health, education and support work, and refrain from instrumentalising the Law on Associations for the same purpose.
Addresses
• Mr Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, President of the Republic of Turkey, email: contact@tccb.gov.tr, X : @RTErdogan
• Mr Akın Gürlek, Minister of Justice, email: info@adalet.gov.tr / basin@adalet.gov.trT, X : @adalet_bakanlik
• Mr Mustafa Çiftçi, Minister of the Interior, email : diab@icisleri.gov.tr / sti@icisleri.gov.tr, X : @TC_icisleri
• Mr Vasip Şahin, Board Member and Chairman of the Human Rights and Equality Institution of Turkey, email : baskanlik@tihek.gov.tr, X : @fahrettinaltun / @tihek_kurumsal
• Ambassador Ms Yaprak Balkan, Mission of Turkey to the European Union, Brussels, email: info@turkdeleg.org / tr-delegation.eu@mfa.gov.tr
• Ambassador Ms R. Bilge Koçyiğit, Permanent Representation of Turkey to the Council of Europe, Strasbourg, email: turkey.unog@mfa.gov.tr
• Ambassador Ayşe Sözen Usluer, Permanent Mission of the Republic of Türkiye to the United Nations Office at Geneva and other international organizations in Switzerland, email: turkiye.unog@mfa.gov.tr
Please also write to the diplomatic missions or embassies of Turkey in your respective countries.
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Paris-Geneva, 23 September 2026
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (the Observatory) was created in 1997 by FIDH and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT). The objective of this programme is to intervene to prevent or remedy situations of repression against human rights defenders. FIDH and OMCT are both members of ProtectDefenders.eu, the European Union Human Rights Defenders Mechanism implemented by international civil society.
To contact the Observatory, call the emergency line:
• E-mail: alert@observatoryfordefenders.org
• Tel FIDH: + 33 1 43 55 25 18
• Tel OMCT: + 41 22 809 49 39
