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Sixteen people were arrested in Izmir on Monday as part of Türkiye’s "My Family Is Safe" operations targeting LGBT+ associations and entertainment venues across 15 provinces, the authorities announced.
The operations are carried out from five provincial centers, Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Aydin and Mersin, with prosecutors coordinating the investigations alongside police and gendarmerie forces, Justice Minister Akin Gurlek said on Sunday.
In Izmir, prosecutors issued detention warrants for 24 people over alleged activities authorities designated as aimed at disrupting public peace and order across the city. Police detained 18 people during Sunday’s operation, while efforts continue to locate the remaining six people named in the warrants.
Izmir Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office said that suspects are also accused of "obscenity" and "encouraging, facilitating or providing a place for prostitution" through posts shared on social media accounts.
The investigations across 15 provinces covered people accused of facilitating or providing premises for prostitution, businesses considered to have enabled such activities, suspects accused of producing and distributing obscene content, and activities allegedly exposing children to such material.
In Istanbul, 26 suspects were detained in a separate operation coordinated by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, which also covered six LGBT+ associations.
Authorities carried out simultaneous detention, search and seizure operations over the weekend, drawing on work by undercover investigators as well as technical and physical surveillance, witness statements, digital examinations and video recordings.
Gurlek said judicial proceedings were launched against 162 suspects, nine associations and 13 businesses. Authorities seized narcotics and a large amount of digital material, while access restrictions were imposed on numerous social media accounts and websites.
The Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK) also examined the finances of associations that Gurlek described as promoting LGBT+ activities. The reviews found that some had received large amounts of funding from public institutions abroad and foreign organizations.
Authorities are now investigating the source of those transfers and whether they are linked to the activities under scrutiny.
Gurlek highlighted that the operation is part of efforts to protect children, the family institution and public order under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s “2026-2035 Decade of Family and Population” vision.
The vision sets out five strategic priorities: protecting the family institution and generations, encouraging marriage, increasing the fertility rate, supporting the development of young people and the well-being of older people, and promoting rural development and a more balanced distribution of the population.
Under this vision, the campaign focuses on activities that authorities say threaten children and families, including alleged prostitution, the production and distribution of obscene content, and conduct that could expose children to such material.
The government also aims to prevent the normalization of activities considered harmful to children and the family institution, framing the measures as part of the state’s responsibility to protect children, young people, and families.
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