Police detain dozens at Istanbul courthouse protest over LGBTQ+ crackdown
Police on Tuesday detained dozens of demonstrators outside a courthouse in Istanbul who had gathered to demand the release of LGBTQ+ activists taken into custody during a sweeping crackdown days earlier. The operation, dubbed “My Family is Safe,” drew international concern from Europe’s top human rights official.
Officers surrounded the demonstrators outside the Caglayan courthouse before taking them into custody. The protesters carried banners reading “Being LGBT+ and organizing is not a crime” and chanted slogans in support of LGBTQ+ rights before police intervened.
The Tuesday detentions followed Sunday’s crackdown on multiple LGBTQ+ groups and individuals. Authorities detained dozens of members, broke into association offices and raided popular hangouts, and blocked the organizations’ websites.
Justice Minister Akin Gurlek said the operation “aimed to protect children, the institution of the family, and public order.” He said it targeted 162 suspects, nine associations and 13 businesses.
On Tuesday, Michael O’Flaherty, the Strasbourg, France-based Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights, said “mere references to ‘family values’ or ‘protection of children’ cannot serve as legal justification for human rights restrictions.”
“I call on the Turkish authorities to release anyone detained for engaging in human rights or civil society work,” O’Flaherty said in a statement, adding that he would continue to monitor the situation.
“We are going through a period where there is an attempt by the ruling power to portray LGBT+ people as the cause of every problem in this society,” Banu Aslan, a 36-year-old protester, told The Associated Press.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling party, which has roots in Turkey’s Islamic movement, has been increasingly vocal against LGBTQ+ groups. The party banned Istanbul Pride in 2015, a march that had drawn tens of thousands of attendees in previous years. Since then, authorities have violently dispersed attempted Pride gatherings.
This summer, an LGBTQ+ cruise ship that tours the Mediterranean and has docked in Turkey multiple times in the past was refused permission to dock there.
