A community space in Istanbul has been sealed over an allegation that it was operating as an unauthorised venue. Lambdaistanbul says the office was used for gatherings, mutual support and volunteer work, and sees the move as part of wider restrictions on LGBTI+ organising. The decision brings fresh attention to a group whose history stretches back to 1993.

A community office, sealed

The İstanbul Governor’s Office sealed Lambdaistanbul LGBTI+ Solidarity Association’s office on 11 November 2026, alleging it was operating an unauthorised venue, Bianet reported. For the association, the space was a place to meet, build solidarity and organise volunteer activities, not simply an address on a door.

Lambdaistanbul said the closure continued measures affecting LGBTI+ people’s living and organising spaces after the “My Family Is Safe” operations began on 12 September. The association rejected the allegation as a reason to restrict activities it says it has carried out openly and transparently for years.

A history shaped by finding space

Lambdaistanbul traces its beginnings to 1993, when planned Sexual Freedom Events in Istanbul were banned and members of the organising committee were detained. The group continued meeting, adopted the Lambda İstanbul name and joined the International Lesbian and Gay Association, according to the association’s own history.

In its early years, members met in homes and at spaces belonging to other organisations. Lambdaistanbul opened an office and cultural centre in 2002, hosting meetings, workshops, talks and solidarity events. It also helped hold Istanbul’s first Pride march in 2003, Bianet reported.

The closure dispute has a longer history

After gaining formal association status in 2006, Lambdaistanbul faced a legal case seeking its closure. Human Rights Watch reported that a court ordered the association to close in 2008, amid concerns about the treatment of LGBT groups and freedom of association.

The Court of Cassation overturned the closure decision in 2009, though Human Rights Watch noted that the ruling included a discriminatory condition concerning the association’s activities. The legal history is a reminder that a successful appeal did not erase every concern about the space available to LGBT organisations.

September operations put the sealing in context

The Human Rights Foundation of Turkey says the “My Family Is Safe” operations, launched on 12 September 2026, targeted LGBTI+ associations, rights defenders and individuals across five provinces. Its monitoring report records at least 117 detentions and at least 83 arrests by 21 September, figures also reported by CIVICUS Monitor.

CIVICUS Monitor describes a wider campaign involving detentions, arrests and digital restrictions. Those reports provide context for Lambdaistanbul’s claim that the office sealing is part of a broader pattern, but the association’s account of the connection remains its own interpretation.

The work continued beyond one address

Lambdaistanbul left its Beyoğlu premises in 2014 and closed its culture centre in 2016. Its own history says it later moved to Kadıköy after difficulty finding a new location, and that it continued activities in other venues and online.

The association says its work centres on helping LGBTI+ people come together, build solidarity networks and strengthen rights advocacy. That makes the loss of a physical meeting place more than a practical inconvenience: community organising depends on people having somewhere to gather, as well as ways to stay connected when they cannot.

The office may be sealed, but Lambdaistanbul says it will not give up its community’s collective solidarity spaces.

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