LGBTI+ individuals detained as part of the “My Family is Safe” operations were subjected to various rights violations during their detention and imprisonment. Lawyer Furkan Yurt reported that terms open to interpretation, such as “public morality” and “sense of decency and modesty”, were used directly as legal grounds in the investigation files, and that lawyers were prevented from accessing their clients for an extended period due to confidentiality orders imposed on the cases.
Photo: Serra Akcan / csgorselarsiv.org
The Kaos GL Association has announced that their friends, who were sent to Sincan Prison as part of the “My Family is Safe” (Ailem Güvende) operations, which began with access restrictions and home raids on September 13, have been subjected to various rights violations.
The rights violations documented by Kaos GL include: forced drug testing, physical violence, and forced hair cutting during detention; the imposition of strip searches in prison; insults and threats targeting sexual orientation and gender identity; intentional isolation and the forced separation of the individuals from one another; denial of access to essential medication, clean water, hygiene products, and clean clothing; and threats to personal safety within the prison.
On September 16, 20 people (at least nine of whom were members of LGBTI+ associations) were arrested out of the 35 individuals detained in Istanbul as part of the “My Family is Safe” operations. In its request for arrest, the prosecutor’s office cited the “best interests of the child,” the “Turkish family structure,” and “public morality” as grounds.
According to a press statement issued yesterday (September 20) by the Istanbul Bar Association’s Human Rights, Lawyers’ Rights, and Women’s Rights Centers, simultaneous operations were carried out against numerous associations and venues on the night of September 12–13; digital devices belonging to associations and individuals were confiscated, and law enforcement officers ransacked certain association offices and private homes. Noting that charges such as “establishing an organization for the purpose of committing a crime,” “drug-related offenses,” “obscenity,” “prostitution,” and “violating the Law on Associations” were leveled in the investigations, the bar association also highlighted Justice Minister Gürlek’s statement that funds received from abroad by certain associations were being examined by Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK).
Attorney Yurt: Concepts open to interpretation are being used as grounds
According to Lawyer Furkan Yurt from the Social Policy, Gender Identity, and Sexual Orientation Studies Association (SPoD), the charges brought in these investigation files are primarily based on allegations of “violating the Law on Associations,” “inciting or mediating prostitution,” “using narcotic substances,” and “establishing an organization for the purpose of committing crimes.”
Attorney Furkan Yurt
Yurt stated that the documents referring to the case for arrest contained no concrete evidence regarding charges other than the alleged violation of the Law on Associations; consequently, the proceedings were effectively being conducted solely on the basis of Article 32/p of the Law on Associations. Explaining that the prosecution and judicial documents cited Articles 13 and 33 of the Constitution to argue that the freedom to form associations could be restricted on grounds such as “public morality,” “public order,” and “prevention of crime,” Yurt further noted that the documents included allegations, based on Article 89 of the Turkish Civil Code, that the association’s purpose had become “contrary to law or morality.”
Yurt also pointed out that, particularly in arrest requests, highly open-ended and broad concepts, such as “public morality,” “sense of decency and modesty,” “society’s moral values,” and the “weakening of the Turkish family structure”, were directly employed as legal grounds by referencing Article 41 of the Constitution, which concerns the “Protection of the Family and Children’s Rights.”
“A confidentiality order has been issued for the case file“
Yurt described the difficulties encountered regarding access to legal counsel during the detention and arrest phases of the “My Family is Safe” operation:
“Following the initial detention procedures, a confidentiality order was issued for the case file; indeed, this order is explicitly cited in the defense statements submitted by the lawyers. Consequently, we were unable to meet with our clients for a long period and were very late in even learning their whereabouts; naturally, access to legal counsel was impossible during this time. Furthermore, because we received much of the information late or incompletely, we were unable to conduct legal consultations at the necessary times. In particular, the process of identifying which prison they had been transferred to and visiting them became a complete ordeal. Currently, our colleagues have been taken to Silivri Prison, and our ability to access a facility located so far outside the city is severely limited.”
Noting that the Kaos GL Association learned of the rights violations through reports from individuals held at Ankara Sincan Prison, Yurt shared the following details regarding the situation in Istanbul:
“As reflected in the interrogation records, some of the suspects personally declared to the court that they had been in custody for four days and were struggling significantly to access medication or medical examinations for serious health issues, such as heart disease. Although the process unfolded somewhat more favorably in other respects, there was a long delay in providing water during the detention period, which approached 72 hours, and their commissary needs have still not been met. It is fair to say that our colleagues were severely underserved regarding nutrition, as their needs for food and other basic provisions were not met immediately upon their admission to Metris Prison.”
“Doctors are acting in violation of the Istanbul Protocol”
Pointing out that such violations ought to be identified during both pre-detention and post-detention medical examinations, Yurt stated, “Unfortunately, because doctors have adopted attitudes contrary to the Istanbul Protocol, we do not know the extent to which these violations have been detected. Moreover, the confidentiality order on the case file prevents us from pursuing legal action regarding any violations that may have been identified. To date, we have utilized the necessary legal and administrative recourse mechanisms regarding rights violations occurring specifically in Istanbul.”
Istanbul Bar Association: Rights defenders criminalized on vague grounds
The Istanbul Bar Association’s Centers for Lawyers’ Rights, Human Rights, and Women’s Rights shared a report with the public yesterday (September 20) at a press conference regarding the operations conducted against LGBTI+ organizations, activists, and journalists, as well as the detentions that took place during protests, between September 12 and 16. The statement outlined the details regarding the 107 individuals detained during a planned press conference in front of the Çağlayan Courthouse, held to protest the “My Family is Safe” operations, as follows:
“Actions were taken against six civil society organizations in Istanbul, and executives and members of these organizations were detained. The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office linked the investigation to grounds such as the ‘best interests of the child,’ ‘protection of the family,’ and ‘shared moral values of society.’ It was reported that 35 people were detained and 20 arrested in Istanbul, and that six associations and ten businesses were included in the scope of the operation. While digital devices belonging to the associations and individuals were seized, access bans constituted the digital component of the operation.
Through access ban decisions issued almost daily since September 12, 2026, numerous websites and social media accounts belonging to LGBTI+ organizations, associations, activists, and human rights defenders have been blocked. In addition to the websites of 11 LGBTI+ associations, 32 Twitter/X accounts and 419 other social media accounts were blocked, and access bans were requested for a further 107 accounts. The blocked accounts included those belonging to university LGBTI+ groups, rights organizations, media outlets, journalists, and institutions such as the Ankara Bar Association’s LGBTI+ Rights Center. The scope of these access bans indicates a large-scale intervention targeting the LGBTI+ movement’s spheres of organizing, communication, and expression.”
A confidentiality order was issued for the investigation files, preventing lawyers from accessing the case records. The statement noted that, contrary to this, the principle of the confidentiality of the investigation was disregarded and the contents of the case file were shared with the press, thereby violating individuals’ “right not to be stigmatized.”
The statement further included the following remarks:
“Attempts have been made to criminalize associations and human rights defenders based on abstract and vague grounds; furthermore, the issue of detention and judicial control measures being imposed on individuals, despite the absence of the conditions prescribed by law, has once again come to the fore, highlighting how the measure of detention in Turkey has ceased to be an exception.”
Human rights violations in police custody
Noting that seven of the 107 individuals detained in front of the Çağlayan Courthouse were lawyers affiliated with the Istanbul Bar Association, the center reported that detention proceedings against them continued in violation of the law, despite the lawyers pointing out this fact.
Based on information in the press release, drawing on accounts from eyewitnesses, observers, and defense counsel, the following rights violations were identified:
- “The citizens who were detained were not given any announcements by law enforcement to disperse, contrary to national and international legislation, nor was a safe corridor created for them to disperse. In the preliminary interview conducted before the statements were taken, the detained citizens stated that they were directly surrounded by law enforcement, beaten within the circle, had their throats squeezed, and were handcuffed with their hands behind their backs.
- A citizen who was put on a bus from the press conference area was severely slapped, had their head slammed against the window, was beaten, and subjected to insults by a police officer inside the bus.
- One of the detained citizens had their arm bitten by the police, and another was subjected to such disproportionate police violence that her arm bone was dislocated from their shoulder socket, yet they were not taken to the hospital.
- It has been reported to us that citizens whose right to a defense and effective legal assistance is obstructed are not provided with food or water until lawyers arrive at the police station.
- Furthermore, regarding the lawyers, it was observed that defense counsel wishing to meet with their detained clients at the Istanbul Provincial Security Directorate were prevented from entering for approximately nine and a half hours, from 15:00 to 00:24; that at 00:24, entry was obstructed by requiring them to enter one by one; and that lawyers were subjected to ill-treatment personally, such as one lawyer being made to wait outside in the cold.
- During this process, at all three police departments where detainees were being held, the delivery of outside food was blocked and food provision was delayed; it was stated that the authorities would supply the rations. Furthermore, the provision of dietary alternatives for vegan and vegetarian activists was obstructed by law enforcement.
- Following interviews with clients, it was determined that all of the detained citizens were subjected to reverse handcuffing. Three interviewees at the Küçükçekmece Police Station stated that they remained in reverse handcuffs from 12:30 PM until 7:00 PM after being put on the bus,
- The protesters, who were being held at the Istanbul Provincial Police Department’s Security Branch, stated that during the initial medical examination, the attending physician did not record the citizens’ claims of ill-treatment on the forensic examination form, that the use of reverse handcuffs continued even at the police station, and that it was only temporarily stopped when they went to the toilet,
- Furthermore, they stated that although some of the detained citizens used prescription medication, and had informed law enforcement of this fact, their medications were not provided to them, and requests from female detainees for sanitary pads were not met.”
What happened?
By a decision of the Istanbul 7th Criminal Judgeship of Peace (Decision No. 2026/9559), access to the websites and social media accounts of numerous LGBTI+ organizations, media outlets, student groups, rights defenders, and activists was blocked on the night of September 12–13. That same night, raids were conducted on associations, homes, and venues in 15 provinces, most notably Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Mersin, and Kuşadası.
Justice Minister Akın Gürlek announced via his X account that judicial proceedings had been initiated against 162 individuals, 9 associations, and 13 businesses as part of the operation. Gürlek added that these operations were carried out within the scope of the “Family and Population Decade.”
Following police raids on the Kaos GL association and the homes of its members, the association’s principal and substitute supervisory board members were detained. Police also searched the association’s office and seized digital data and materials.
In Izmir, 16 people were arrested, and in the Kuşadası district of Aydın, 5 people were arrested on charges of “obscenity” and “prostitution.”
As part of the operation targeting Kaos GL, conducted on charges of “obscenity” and “violation of the Law on Associations”, freelance journalist Tuğba Tekerek and seven principal members of the Kaos GL Association’s executive and supervisory boards were arrested.
In Istanbul, the “Istanbul Labor, Peace, and Democracy Forces” and LGBTI+ individuals gathered in front of the Istanbul Courthouse in Çağlayan to protest the operations. A total of 106 people, including BirGün reporter Sarya Toprak, journalist Sener Azak from the German public broadcaster ARD, and several lawyers, were detained following police intervention. Operations were conducted against a total of 54 locations, including 10 businesses and 6 LGBTI+ associations, under the coordination of the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office. Of the 35 suspects referred to the courthouse, 20 were arrested and 14 were placed under judicial control, while one individual was released following their statement to the prosecutor. Arrest warrants were issued for 13 individuals reported to be abroad.
