24/06/2026 | Writer: Kaos GL
LGBTI+ organizations reacted to the detention of 209 people, including Kaos GL Editor-in-Chief Yıldız Tar, during operations carried out in Ankara ahead of the NATO Summit.
LGBTI+ organizations have condemned the detention of 209 people, including Kaos GL Editor-in-Chief Yıldız Tar, during police operations carried out in Ankara ahead of the NATO Summit. In a joint statement, the organizations noted that those detained included many LGBTI+ activists, women’s and feminist rights defenders, lawyers, academics, trade union representatives, and human rights advocates, and called for the detentions to end immediately.
The statement emphasized that “being a journalist, lawyer, or academic is not a crime. Advocating for LGBTI+ rights is not a crime,” and noted that lawyers and family members were not properly informed about the grounds for the detentions during the house raids. It also criticized the confidentiality order imposed on the investigation file and the 24-hour ban on lawyer-client meetings, describing them as violations of the right to defense.
“Lawyers cannot be denied access to information. The right to defense cannot be restricted,” the statement said.
“We will not allow a climate of fear to be created”
The organizations also criticized the bans and security measures imposed in Ankara under the pretext of the NATO Summit. Recalling that the Ankara Pride March took place this year despite bans and police blockades, they stated:
“We will not allow Ankara, our lives, and our rights to be shut down under the pretext of NATO, nor will we allow a climate of fear to be created in the name of security.”
The statement pointed out that those detained included not only individuals who had previously been publicly targeted but also people of different ages and professions, arguing that the operations targeted broader social opposition rather than specific individuals.
“This demonstrates that these operations are not limited to isolated individuals, but aim to criminalize the LGBTI+ movement, the feminist struggle, revolutionary youth movements, labor activism, human rights defenders, and democratic spaces for organization.”
“Human rights defenders are not a security threat”
Noting that freedom of association has long been under pressure in Türkiye, the organizations stated:
“Human rights defenders are not a security threat. Freedom of association cannot be targeted under this pretext.”
The statement also highlighted that Yıldız Tar was detained one day before a hearing in a case in which Tar is being prosecuted as part of the HDK investigation.
The organizations said:
“The detention of Yıldız Tar in a house raid one day before the hearing is a direct attack on LGBTI+ journalism, human rights advocacy, freedom of association, and the collective memory of the LGBTI+ movement.”
“Yıldız Tar is not alone”
Declaring that “Yıldız Tar is not alone. LGBTI+ journalism cannot be silenced,” the organizations argued that the operations are the result of security-oriented policies targeting social opposition and rights struggles.
“The threat to democracy in Türkiye is not human rights advocacy, but security policies that suspend rights whenever they see fit.”
In the conclusion of the statement, the organizations demanded the immediate release of Yıldız Tar and everyone else in detention, the lifting of restrictions on lawyer-client meetings and the confidentiality order on the case file, and reiterated:
“LGBTI+ rights advocacy, organizing, and journalism are not crimes.”
Tags: human rights, media, life
