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Turkish authorities launched an unprecedented crackdown on the country’s LGBT community on Sunday, raiding gay bars and shutting down activist organizations, in what the government said are efforts to protect Turkey’s family values.
Since the nationwide crackdowns began, Turkish authorities have arrested and detained some 116 people across 15 provinces in actions against LGBT rights organizations and activists. The Turkish criminal justice system has also launched investigations of more than 160 people, according to Amnesty International.
Amnesty International reported that 180 social media accounts belonging to LGBT organizations, activists, journalists and media outlets have been blocked or restricted.
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Turkish police detain dozens of LGBT rights protesters in Ankara, on September 15, 2026. The arrests interrupted a planned pro-LGBT demonstration in the capital a day after detentions of LGBT activists, media organizations, civil society groups and public figures across Turkey. (Diego Cupolo/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
“This appalling escalation in Türkiye’s crackdown amounts to a full-scale assault on LGBTI rights and those who defend them. The relentless raids, arrests and demonization of LGBTI people under the spurious guise of ‘protecting the families’ demonstrates why defending LGBTI rights in Türkiye is more important than ever,” Esther Major, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for Europe, said in a statement.
Turkish police detain dozens of LGBT rights protesters in Ankara, on September 15, 2026. The arrests interrupted a planned pro-LGBT demonstration in the capital a day after detentions of LGBT activists, media organizations, civil society groups and public figures across Turkey. (Diego Cupolo/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
In a statement posted on X, Turkey’s Minister of Justice, Akın Gürlek, said, “we are steadfastly continuing our efforts to protect the family, our children and our youth from all forms of exploitation, obscenity, crime and harmful content.”
Gürlek stated that the Ministry of Justice sent a comprehensive directive to the 175 chief public prosecutor’s offices in all of Turkey’s 81 provinces to go after content and behavior that the government considers opposed to “public morality” and harmful to the country’s youth.
“The best interests of our children are not open to debate for us. We will show no tolerance for any criminal organization targeting the institution of the family, the future of our youth, and the order of our society,” Gürlek’s statement went on to say.
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Turkey’s focus on family values and traditional norms is part of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Decade of Family and Population vision, a long-term strategy aimed at tracking population trends and promote an increased fertility rate to spur population growth.
Many see Erdoğan’s renewed emphasis on “family values” and his targeting of groups he portrays as threats to those values as as an effort to cement his legacy.
An enduring question asked by analysts is as Erdogan ages and approaches another election in 2028 is what kind of Turkey he leaves behind.
– Russia’s President Vladimir Putin meets with Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Kazan on October 23, 2024. (ALEXANDER ZEMLIANICHENKO/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
“Erdoğan’s “family values” agenda is about more than defending conservative values, it is about defining what kind of society Turkey should be and who belongs in it,” Gonul Tol, senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, told Fox News Digital.
“The LGBT community is a particularly useful target because Erdoğan can portray it simultaneously as a threat to the traditional family, a Western import, and a symbol of the cultural values he says his movement is fighting against,” Gonul added.
With protests against the moves beginning to take shape, the crackdowns show no signs of letting up, even as international attention and condemnation begins to pour in.
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Police used pepper spray against peaceful protesters in İzmir, along Turkey’s Aegean coast, and detained more than 95 people on Tuesday who had gathered outside İstanbul Courthouse in protest.
Turkey, which officially became a candidate for the European Union in 1999, received strong pushback from the commission.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a rally in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Istanbul, Turkey October 28, 2023. (Dilara Senkaya/Reuters)
A European Commission spokesperson told Fox News Digital, “The Commission is concerned about the recent arrests and legal proceedings initiated against LGBTIQ+ activists, human rights associations, and businesses, as well as of the blockages of websites and social media accounts, accompanied with allegations concerning funding of civil society organizations. We are following developments closely.”
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The Commission reiterated that Turkey, as an EU candidate and member of the Council of Europe, should promote and ensure respect for the human rights and dignity of all individuals, regardless of gender or sexual identity.
A spokesman for the Turkish embassy in Washington, D.C., did not respond to requests for comment from Fox News Digital.