Police detain dozens at an Istanbul courthouse protest over LGBTQ+ crackdown

ISTANBUL (AP) — Police on Tuesday detained dozens of demonstrators who staged a protest outside a courthouse in Istanbul to demand the release of LGBTQ+ activists taken into custody during a sweeping crackdown days earlier.

Police surrounded the demonstrators outside the Caglayan courthouse before detaining them.

On Sunday, Turkish authorities cracked down on multiple LGBTQ+ groups and individuals, detaining dozens of members, breaking into association offices and raiding popular hangouts. The organizations’ websites were also blocked.

The crackdown aimed to “protect children, the institution of the family, and public order,” Justice Minister Akin Gurlek said. He said the operation, dubbed “My Family is Safe,” targeted 162 suspects, nine associations and 13 businesses.

On Tuesday, Michael O’Flaherty, the Strasbourg, France-based Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights, expressed concerns over the raids and detentions, saying “mere references to ‘family values’ or ‘protection of children’ cannot serve as legal justification for human rights restrictions.”

“I call on the Turkish authorities to release anyone detained for engaging in human rights or civil society work,” he said in a statement, adding that he would continue to monitor the situation.

Outside the courthouse, demonstrators carried banners reading: “Being LGBT+ and organizing is not a crime” and chanted slogans in support of LGBTQ+ rights before police intervened.

“We are going through a period where there is an attempt by the ruling power to portray LGBT+ people as the cause of every problem in this society,” 36-year old Banu Aslan, one of the protesters, told The Associated Press.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling party, which has roots in Turkey’s Islamic movement, has been increasingly vocal against LGBTQ+ groups in a bid to consolidate the more conservative elements of its base. In 2015, it banned Istanbul Pride, which had tens of thousands of attendees in previous years. Since then, authorities have violently dispersed any attempted gatherings for Pride.

This summer, an LGBTQ+ cruise ship that tours the Mediterranean and has docked in Turkey multiple times in the past was refused permission to dock there.