Human rights and LGBTQ rights envoys from six European countries on Thursday urged Turkey to respect civil liberties as international criticism grew over a nationwide crackdown that has led to at least 82 people being jailed pending trial.
The envoys from France, Sweden, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands and Iceland said actions taken since September 12, particularly against human rights defenders and LGBTQ organizations, were “deeply troubling.”
They called on Turkey to respect freedom of peaceful assembly, association and expression under international human rights law and the European Convention on Human Rights and expressed solidarity with LGBTQ people in the country.
Human Rights Watch Turkey Director Emma Sinclair-Webb described the operation as Turkey’s widest crackdown on LGBTQ people in recent years. She accused the authorities of trying to smear LGBTQ advocacy by grouping activists with people investigated for drug and prostitution offenses.
Sinclair-Webb also questioned the government’s claim that the operation protects families, pointing to Turkey’s record of domestic violence, child abuse and the killing of women.
Hundreds of academics and researchers from several countries called for the release of the detainees, an end to investigations targeting rights groups and the removal of online restrictions. The signatories include Judith Butler, Thomas Piketty, Slavoj Žižek, Étienne Balibar and Wendy Brown.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) demanded the unconditional release of journalist Tuğba Tekerek, who was jailed over a 2024 article about LGBTQ people during elections in Georgia. CPJ said prosecuting her over freelance work published two years earlier sent a warning to other journalists.
The six-country statement added to earlier criticism from Amnesty International, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) and US Senator Jeanne Shaheen. Amnesty called the operation a “full-scale assault” on LGBTQ rights, while Shaheen urged Congress to pass legislation allowing visa restrictions against people responsible for serious abuses of LGBTQ people.
New Party leader Özgür Özel said the operation indiscriminately criminalized sexual health, HIV support and LGBTQ family solidarity groups. He also said a Justice Ministry circular directing prosecutors to act on content deemed harmful to children or families amounted to unconstitutional interference by the executive branch in judicial authority.
At least 82 jailed
Courts in Ankara, İzmir, Mersin and Aydın have jailed at least 62 people. An İstanbul court later jailed 20 more, bringing the confirmed total to at least 82.
The cases include LGBTQ activists and association members as well as people accused of prostitution, drug and other offenses. Not everyone jailed is accused of LGBTQ advocacy.
Justice Minister Akın Gürlek announced that the “My Family Is Safe” operation covered 162 people, nine associations and 13 businesses in 15 provinces.
In an İstanbul court filing, prosecutors accused LGBTQ associations of promoting homosexuality and transgender identities and weakening the “Turkish family structure.” They argued that the groups’ activities could violate “general morality” and harm children, while saying the investigation was not based on members’ sexual orientation or their defense of LGBTQ rights.
Same-sex relations are legal in Turkey.
Authorities have also started proceedings aimed at dissolving two LGBTQ associations in Mersin and imposed access restrictions on hundreds of websites and social media accounts.
Gürlek says the operation is intended to protect children, the institution of the family and social order. He has linked it to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s 2026 to 2035 “Decade of Family and Population,” a government program introduced in response to falling birth rates and an aging population.
This article is republished from Turkish Minute.
