Turkey detains eight LGBTQ+ activists in broad crackdown

ISTANBUL, Sept 16 - Eight members of Turkish LGBTQ+ rights group Kaos GL were jailed pending trial on Tuesday as part of a national operation the government says is protecting family values and children, but which rights groups say targets fundamental rights.

Lawyers for Kaos said that besides those jailed, seven other members of the group, including a journalist, were released under judicial supervision.

Court documents seen by Reuters showed prosecutors accused the suspects of facilitating the publication of obscene material, including material accessible to children.

The court document cited the suspects' roles within the association, social media posts, and evidence gathered during a police investigation as creating strong suspicion of criminal conduct, and said detention was necessary due to the risks of flight and evidence tampering.

Kaos GL, one of Turkey's largest LGBTQ+ rights organisations, said the detentions and imprisonments were "not a legal process" but "an overt political operation targeting fundamental rights and freedoms."

"We demand the immediate release of our friends who have been unjustly and unlawfully imprisoned after being targeted with false accusations and subjected to an intense smear campaign," the group said in a statement.

At least 54 people were jailed in other provinces in sweeping raids targeting LGBTQ+ associations under an operation dubbed "My Family is Safe", which the government says is aimed at protecting children and family values.

On Tuesday, the police detained at least 126 people during protests in Ankara and Istanbul against the raids and arrests.

The European Commission said it was concerned by the arrests of activists, legal proceedings against rights groups and businesses, and the blocking of websites and social media accounts, adding that it was following developments closely.

Justice Minister Akin Gurlek said on Sunday the investigations, coordinated by prosecutors in Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Aydin and Mersin, involved 162 suspects, nine associations and 13 businesses across 15 provinces.

Turkey's government, which has been criticised by Western countries, rights groups and critics over the actions of its judiciary and prosecutors since a failed coup attempt in 2016, has in recent years heavily clamped down on the LGBTQ+ community. It has banned the LGBTQ+ march in Istanbul, while President Tayyip Erdogan has repeatedly accused the community of posing a threat to Turkey's family structure and values. REUTERS