[More than 1250 academics and researchers worldwide, including prominent figures Noura Erakat, Judith Butler, Gita Sen, Sonia Corrêa, Zackie Achmat, Thomas Piketty, Étienne Balibar, Axel Honneth, Sherene Seikaly, Wendy Brown, Eyal Weizman, Aslı Bâli, Susan Stryker, Neve Gordon, Sarah Schulman, Slavoj Žižek, Jasbir Puar, Lisa Hajjar, Rahul Rao, and Maya Mikdashi signed an open letter condemning the widespread police actions targeting LGBTI+ organizations, activists, and human rights defenders across Turkey. The signatories are from universities, research institutions, and civil-society organizations from across continents and disciplines. Click here to find a full list of signatories.]
On September 12 police began raiding LGBTI+ organizations, community spaces, businesses and activists’ homes in multiple cities throughout Turkey. Organizations that support people living with HIV were included in this crackdown. 162 people were targeted, 112 were detained, and 82 were jailed pending trial. Hundreds of social media accounts were shut down within a week.
The Turkish government cynically named the attack “My Family is Safe” — tapping into a global backlash fueled by a moral panic that frames feminists, and queer and trans people as threats to traditional, religious and national values, and public order. They also used the term “operation,” intentionally mimicking militaristic language and framing the LGBTI+ community and its infrastructures as a question of national security.
These ongoing raids represent the most intense crackdown on LGBTI + life in the MENA region, precisely because the community in Turkey is the largest, most visible, and most established. They are a critical part of a larger coalition fighting for bodily rights, public space, the freedom of expression, and against both war and the consolidation of patriarchal authoritarianism in Turkey. In more recent years, Istanbul in particular has served as a regional hub for queer and trans migration and organizing.
Thus far the crackdown has targeted 162 people, nine associations and 13 businesses across 15 provinces. Police have seized digital materials and blocked websites and social media accounts of queer and trans groups, individuals, and international human rights organizations such as the X account of Amnesty International's Turkey branch. On September 15, 126 people who protested against these raids were detained in Ankara, Istanbul and Izmir. At least 82 people are currently in jail pending trial. Even organizations that have offered legal, health and community support to the LGBTI+ community are now facing intense government pressure.
As a first response, a group of Turkish academics and activists drafted this letter of solidarity with the community and condemnation of the Turkish government. They collected over twelve hundred signatures in 48 hours, indicating that this crackdown is being closely monitored internationally. By signing on, they urge institutions and organizations around the world to respond to this crackdown, and call for the release of those detained, an end to restrictions on LGBTI+ organizations, and respect for freedom of association, expression and peaceful assembly. The full list of signatories was released on September 17, 2026.
Open Letter and Full List of Signatories