"Legal action has been initiated against 162 suspected individuals, nine organizations and 13 companies in ... a total of 15 provinces, including Istanbul and Ankara," Justice Minister Akin Gürlek wrote on X.
The crackdowns were carried out as part of the “Decade of the Family” declared by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has repeatedly described the LGBTQI movement as deviant.
The Kaos GL organization said in a statement that “more than ten” of its members had been arrested following police raids. Judicial authorities in the capital have alleged that Kaos GL published “posts with obscene content” on its website and social media, and that the content was accessible to children.
Social media accounts belonging to a number of Turkish LGBTQI organizations with thousands of followers were also blocked on Saturday in Turkey, according to the AFP news agency.
In June, Turkey blocked around 40 accounts on X linked to LGBTQI organizations.
Last year, over 700 X accounts critical of the government were blocked at the request of Turkish authorities, according to AFP.
