Türkiye: LGBT Rights Crackdown Strikes at Rule of Law

The useful part

Click to expand Image Demonstrators assemble on September 15, 2026, outside the Istanbul courthouse to protest the arrests of LGBT activists and raids on LGBT rights associations in cities across Türkiye. More than 100 demonstrators were also arrested and detained for more than 24 hours. On September 12-14, 2026, coordinated police raids targeted seven groups defending the rights of LGBT people and two supporting people living with HIV, as well as bars and nightclubs in Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Aydın, and Mersin.

How it works

• "This crackdown is a blatant attempt to criminalize and marginalize LGBT people and silence the groups that stand up for their rights," said Benjamin Ward, deputy Europe and Central Asia director at Human...
• © 2026 Güliz Sağlam (Istanbul, September 18, 2026) – The Turkish government's major crackdown on groups and activists defending the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people threatens...
• Police arrested at least 112 people, with 82 still detained under court order.
• At least 24 of them are LGBT activists, founders or executives of the targeted groups, and one is a journalist.