Thirty human rights organizations have condemned a Turkish court’s decision to shut down the Young LGBTQ+ Association, saying the ruling violates the freedoms of association and expression and criminalizes human rights advocacy.
In a joint statement issued on Tuesday the groups said the closure order represents a further tightening of restrictions on freedom of association and shows how anti-LGBTQ+ policies continue to be enforced in practice, even after their removal from Turkey’s proposed 11th Judicial Reform Package.
The ruling was issued by the İzmir 3rd Court of First Instance, which ordered the closure of the Young LGBTQ+ Association.
The case stemmed from an investigation launched by the İzmir Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office in February after an inspection report labeled five artistic designs shared by the association as obscene. Although prosecutors later issued a decision of non-prosecution in the obscenity probe in August, the closure case continued and ultimately resulted in the court’s ruling.
Recalling earlier lawsuits seeking the dissolution of the Tarlabaşı Community Center, the We Will Stop Femicide Platform and Migration Monitoring Association, the groups said the latest ruling confirms that pressure on civil society and human rights defenders in Turkey has become systematic and continuous.
The statement also noted that the court issued its reasoned decision on the same day as the final hearing on December 11, which the groups said demonstrated how swiftly the judiciary can act in cases involving LGBTQ+ organizations.
Signatories of the joint statement include Amnesty International-Turkey, the Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA), the Human Rights Association (İHD), Kaos GL, LambdaIstanbul, the Turkish Human Rights Foundation (TİHV), Civil Rights Defenders and the Punto24 Platform for Independent Journalism.
Government officials have for years restricted Pride marches and publicly targeted LGBTQ+ advocacy, portraying it as a threat to family values.
Turkey was ranked 47th out of 49 countries in the 2025 Rainbow Index, an annual assessment of LGBTQ+ rights released in May, which placed it among the bottom five in Europe.
