Turkish authorities detained journalist and LGBTQ rights advocate Yıldız Tar in Ankara on Tuesday, a day before Tar was due in court in a case linked to an investigation into a left-wing political and civil society platform, the Bianet news website reported.
Tar, editor-in-chief of the LGBTQ news outlet KaosGL.org, was taken into custody during morning raids in the Turkish capital. The detention came as prosecutors said warrants had been issued for 241 people accused of links to several banned militant groups ahead of a NATO summit in Ankara next month, with 209 people detained so far.
It was not immediately clear whether authorities gave a specific reason for Tar’s detention.
Press groups said those detained were put under a 24-hour restriction on access to lawyers.
Tar was expected to appear in court Wednesday in a case opened as part of an investigation into the Peoples’ Democratic Congress (HDK), a left-wing umbrella group that includes political and civil society organizations.
Tar was previously detained in February 2025 in the HDK investigation and later jailed pending trial on a charge of membership in an armed terrorist organization. Tar was released in May 2025 but remained under judicial supervision.
The press branch of the Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions of Turkey (DİSK) condemned Tuesday’s detention.
“A journalist’s detention in a home raid is a serious intervention in freedom of expression and press freedom,” the union said, calling for Tar and the others detained to be released immediately.
Erol Önderoğlu, Turkey representative for Reporters Without Borders, also criticized the detention, saying security measures linked to an international summit could not justify detaining a journalist.
Other journalist groups including the Contemporary Journalists Association and the Journalists Union of Turkey, said the detention was politically motivated and called for Tar’s release.
The Ankara Governor’s Office has announced restrictions on demonstrations, public meetings, marches, sit-ins, news conferences and similar events from June 28 to July 10, citing security measures for the NATO summit, which is scheduled for July 7-8.
Turkey, which remains one of the world’s leading jailers of journalists, according to press freedom organizations, dropped to 159th out of 180 countries in the 2025 World Press Freedom Index, published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) in early May.
