Turkey launches nationwide raids and blocks 15 LGBTQ+ accounts on X

Nationwide raids under family protection banner

Turkish authorities initiated judicial proceedings against 162 suspects, 9 associations, and 13 businesses across 15 provinces under a coordinated sweep named Operation My Family is Safe. Justice Minister Akın Gürlek announced the measures on social media, stating that operations were carried out through joint actions by police and gendarmerie forces. Although Gürlek detailed the scope of the legal proceedings, he did not disclose the exact count of individuals placed in formal detention. He explained that the nationwide campaign forms part of the Decade of the Family declared by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, aimed at safeguarding children, the family structure, and the social order.

In the framework of the operation 'My family is safe', carried out in cooperation with our police and gendarmerie services, judicial proceedings have been initiated against 162 suspects, 9 associations and 13 businesses in a total of 15 provinces.

Venue inspections and activist arrests

The police operations focused on major urban centers, including targeted inspections across Istanbul and Ankara. In Istanbul, officers raided gay bars and entered a nightclub regarded as a sanctuary for the LGBTQ+ community, according to footage broadcast by pro-government media outlets. Security forces also searched a traditional men's hammam known as a location where prostitution takes place. In addition to commercial venue searches, police conducted home raids targeting community organizers. LGBTQ+ rights organization Kaos GL reported that security forces arrested more than ten of its members after carrying out searches at their residences.

Digital blocks targeting activist accounts

Alongside physical enforcement on the ground, Turkish authorities moved to restrict LGBTQ+ community organizing online. The Turkish Freedom of Expression Association, known as IFOD, reported on 12 September 2026 that authorities ordered the social media network X to block the accounts of roughly 15 Turkish LGBTQ+ organizations and activists. Users located in Turkey can no longer access these accounts without connecting through a virtual private network (VPN). The restricted feeds, several of which hold tens of thousands of followers, include the official account of Kaos GL and the profile of human rights lawyer Levent Piskin.

Broader platform censorship and state rhetoric

Homosexuality is not illegal under Turkish criminal statutes, but hostile rhetoric from government leaders is widespread. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan regularly refers to LGBTQ+ individuals as perverts, claiming they threaten the traditional family structure and contribute to falling national birth rates. Turkish courts routinely direct social platform X to block accounts belonging to opposition figures, civil society activists, and journalists.

The recent blocking orders continue an established pattern of state-directed content suppression on social networks. In March 2026, Turkish authorities blocked access to the X account of an AFP correspondent reporting from the Kurdish-majority southeastern region, restricting a profile with more than 50,000 followers. During the previous year, the government successfully pushed X to block over 700 accounts critical of state authorities during public demonstrations over the arrest of opposition Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu.