More than 80 people remain detained across Turkey in a widening operation targeting LGBTI+ activists, rights defenders and trans women. Lawyers say indictments have been delayed, while reports of poor prison conditions and restricted healthcare are adding urgency to concerns over due process, discrimination and freedom of association.

Essential Takeaways

  • Five provinces affected: Detentions have been reported in Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Mersin and Kusadasi.
  • Indictments remain limited: Only one investigation is reported to have produced an indictment so far.
  • Lawyers challenge the process: Defence lawyers say people were detained before investigators had gathered sufficient evidence.
  • Prison conditions are a concern: Reports include overcrowded wards, delayed medication and difficulty accessing healthcare.
  • Rights groups see a wider threat: Monitoring organisations say the operation risks criminalising LGBTI+ visibility and association.

Detentions stretch across five Turkish provinces

The scale of the operation is becoming clearer, with at least 80 people still in custody across several investigations. The cases include activists, members of LGBTI+ organisations, a journalist and trans women, according to rights groups and monitoring organisations.

In Istanbul, 20 people, including nine activists, are reportedly being held in pre-trial detention. Ankara has seen the detention of eight people, including members of Kaos GL and journalist Tugba Tekerek. Elsewhere, 18 trans women are detained in Izmir and 23 remain in custody in Mersin. Five people are linked to the investigation in Kusadasi.

The numbers have shifted as some detainees were released, then became involved in separate files or faced new detention orders. That moving picture makes the operation harder to follow, but it also underlines how broad the crackdown has become. Al Jazeera reported that the raids formed part of a national anti-LGBTQ operation known as "My Family Is Safe". [3]

Why are indictments taking so long?

The central legal criticism is that detention came first and evidence-gathering followed. Idil Arslanbas, a lawyer for the 17 May Association, said the investigations appeared to have been built around an operation rather than a detailed preliminary case.

That claim matters because pre-trial detention is meant to be an exceptional measure, not a substitute for a conviction. CIVICUS said the arrests formed part of a wider assault on civic space, while Turkey's Human Rights Foundation has documented concerns about the operation and its impact on LGBTI+ people. [2], [4]

Appeals against detention have reportedly been rejected in several cases, even though indictments remain outstanding. For families and detainees, that can create a grim legal limbo: people lose their freedom while waiting to learn precisely what case they are expected to answer.

Lawyers report troubling treatment in custody

The allegations go beyond delayed indictments. Lawyers say some people were detained during midnight raids, had phones and computers seized, and were handcuffed behind their backs in police vehicles while being filmed.

Once in prison, trans detainees and other LGBTI+ prisoners reportedly faced further obstacles. These include intrusive health testing, uncertainty over placement, strip searches, transfers between prisons and delays in seeing doctors. Some prisoners are said to have written repeated petitions simply to reach the infirmary.

The practical details are stark. Reports describe overcrowded accommodation, paid access to drinking water, problems obtaining prescribed medicines and missing glasses. In one example cited by lawyers, 40 people were reportedly held in a ward designed for 24. Turkey's Human Rights Foundation and CIVICUS have both highlighted concerns about detention conditions and discriminatory treatment. [2], [4]

The accusations raise wider free-expression concerns

The operation is also significant because it appears to test how Turkish authorities interpret obscenity, child protection and the work of registered associations. Lawyers say ordinary LGBTI+ visibility and the routine activities of legally established organisations are being treated as potential criminal conduct.

That would mark a serious shift in risk for groups that have operated through advocacy, community support and public events. Türkiye Today reported arrests connected to the crackdown on LGBTI+ associations, while Turkey Unfolding described the operation as a sweeping campaign reaching beyond individual activists. [5], [6]

The concern isn't limited to one community. If peaceful organising, private communications or public visibility can be reframed as criminal evidence, campaigners argue that the boundary between lawful expression and prosecution becomes dangerously blurred. It leaves many organisations facing the same question: how do you keep providing support when even routine administration may attract scrutiny?

International pressure is building

The arrests have drawn criticism from international rights advocates, who say the campaign should be assessed against Turkey's obligations on fair trial rights, non-discrimination and freedom of association. UN human rights experts have also condemned the arrests, according to 76 Crimes. [7]

For now, the immediate focus is on the people still detained and on whether prosecutors will file detailed indictments. The longer-term issue is broader: whether courts will protect lawful association and expression, or allow pre-trial detention to become the most visible punishment in the process.

Supporters of the detainees say legal challenges must be matched by public solidarity. That may sound familiar, but in a case where the timetable and evidence remain unclear, visibility itself has become part of the struggle.

It's a small legal phrase with enormous consequences: detention should not become punishment before trial.

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