Turkey blocks websites and accounts, dozens arrested in a wide-scale LGBTQ crackdown

Over the weekend, Turkish authorities escalated their actions against LGBTQ organizations, activists, and civil society organizations, after a court in Istanbul ordered the blocking of a wide range of websites and social media accounts. This coincided with police raids carried out at night targeting association offices, private homes, and clubs in the city.

According to Turkish media reports, the Seventh Criminal Peace Court in Istanbul ordered Saturday the blocking of the "Kaos GL" website, a prominent organization that has been active for years in the field of LGBTQ rights in Turkey. Other websites in the order include: 17 May, ÜniKuir, Pink Life, SPoD, Genç LGBTİ+, Lambda Istanbul, and Muamma LGBTİ+.

The decision also included accounts of activists, journalists, women's organizations, and student groups. Access to some X platform accounts has already been blocked from within Turkey, while some of the restrictions imposed on Instagram accounts have not yet been implemented.

The police raided the offices of the "Kaos GL" organization as well as the homes of several members of its administration and its supervisory board. According to local reports, more than ten activists were detained as part of this investigation, on suspicion of "spreading obscenity" and violating the Associations Law.

At the same time, the police carried out other raids in Istanbul, particularly in the Beyoğlu and Şişli districts, where police and gendarmerie forces searched a number of nightclubs, massage centers, and shops in the Taksim, Cihangir, and Istiklal Avenue areas. According to reports, some of these raids are linked to the same investigation file.

In total, Turkish authorities have arrested at least 162 people in the crackdown.

These measures come after months of increasing restrictions on LGBTQ organizations in Turkey. Over the summer, more than a hundred accounts belonging to organizations, activists, and journalists were blocked, and court orders were issued to block dating applications and websites affiliated with LGBTQ communities.

In July, reports indicated that at least 93 accounts and pages belonging to LGBTQ organizations, feminist platforms and groups, and media outlets had been subjected to restrictions under a separate decision.

Human rights organizations accuse the Turkish authorities of carrying out a systematic campaign to limit the presence of the LGBTQ community in both public and digital spaces. In contrast, the authorities justify some of the bans by citing the need to protect "national security and public order."

The Turkish Constitutional Court had previously ruled that some of the electronic surveillance powers used by the police were unconstitutional. However, organizations concerned with freedom of expression say that these powers are still mainly used to issue blocking orders.