13/09/2026 | Writer: Kaos GL
In a police raid targeting Kaos GL Association, members of the Board of Directors and Audit Board—including alternate members—were detained during home raids. Police also searched the association's office.
In a police raid targeting Kaos GL Association, members of the Board of Directors and Audit Board—including alternate members—were detained during home raids. Police also searched the association's office. Contents published on the association’s website and social media accounts were cited as grounds for the investigation, carried out under charges of "obscenity" and "violation of the Law on Associations".
In the police raid targeting Kaos GL Association, members of both the board of directors and the audit board, including alternate members, were taken into custody.
More than ten LGBTI+ activists were detained following police raids on their homes.
In the investigation conducted by the Cyber Crimes Bureau of the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, content published on Kaos GL Association’s website and social media accounts was cited as the basis for the "obscenity" charge. The investigation document did not specify which content was subject to the allegation.
According to the ruling of the Ankara 4th Peace Judgeship of Criminal Jurisdiction dated September 11, 2026, the prosecution alleged that Kaos GL made "posts containing obscenity" on its website and social media channels and that these were published in a manner accessible to children. On these grounds, the prosecutor's office launched an investigation under Article 226 of the Turkish Penal Code, which regulates the offense of "obscenity".
Use of association’s official accounts cited as grounds for investigation
The ruling also cited the fact that the content subject to the investigation was published under the umbrella of Kaos GL Association, using its official website and social media accounts.
Claiming that the posts were made "through the activities of a civil society organization formed under the umbrella of an association, utilizing the association's corporate websites and social media accounts," the prosecutor's office requested an evaluation under the Law on Associations.
The ruling authorized the seizure of any evidence, photographs, and printed materials related to the investigation, if found. Furthermore, the judgeship ordered the examination of desktop and laptop computers, mobile phones, tablets, portable storage drives, CDs, DVDs, and other digital materials belonging to the "suspects". Authorization was also granted to seize devices if passwords could not be decrypted or digital data could not be accessed.
Simultaneous raids on night clubs in İstanbul
During the same hours, coordinated by the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, teams from the İstanbul Provincial Police Department and Provincial Gendarmerie Command conducted simultaneous raids on numerous venues in Beyoğlu and Şişli. Addresses raided included night clubs and massage parlors across Taksim, Cihangir, and İstiklal Avenue.
This operation by the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office was also mentioned in the document concerning the police operation against Kaos GL Association.
Social media accounts of LGBTI+ associations and activists blocked during the day
On the 46th anniversary of the September 12 military coup, dozens of websites and social media accounts belonging to LGBTI+ associations and activists were blocked from access.
The websites and social media accounts were blocked by decision no. 2026/9559 of the İstanbul 7th Peace Judgeship of Criminal Jurisdiction, dated September 12, 2026.
While it drew attention that the access block decisions were issued on a Saturday outside of official working hours, these digital censorship practices recalled the military coup's stage bans targeting LGBTI+ people.
During Pride Month earlier this year, social media accounts belonging to numerous LGBTI+ organizations and activists were similarly blocked, and it was later revealed that the "Virtual Patrol" (Sanal Devriye) practice was behind the decision.
Blocked websites and social media accounts
Websites blocked from access include Kaos GL Association, May 17 Association, ÜniKuir's news platform, Pink Life Association, SPoD, Youth LGBTI+ Association, Lambdaistanbul, Muamma LGBTI+ Association, and the news portal velvele.net.
According to the Freedom of Expression Association (İFÖD), blocked social media accounts include those of journalist and Kaos GL Editor-in-Chief Yıldız Tar, lawyer and human rights defender Levent Pişkin, actor and trans rights activist Seyhan Arman, theater actor and LGBTI+ activist Zeynep Esmeray Özadikti, and youth and LGBTI+ rights defender Enes Hocaoğulları.
X implemented the access block decisions and made the accounts inaccessible from Turkey. Instagram, however, has not yet enforced the decisions.
Some of the blocked X accounts are: Levent Pişkin, Seyhan Arman, Zeynep Esmeray Özadikti, Yasemin Öz, Boğaziçi University LGBTI+ Studies Club, Association for Sexual Education, Treatment and Research (CETAD), Free Colors Association, Queer Adana, Bilkent University Official LGBTQIA+ Student Community, Velvele, Inter Solidarity, Association for Struggle Against Sexual Violence, and İzmir LGBTI+ Pride Week.
Instagram accounts that have been blocked but are not yet made invisible from Turkey include: Yıldız Tar, May 17 Association, Seyhan Arman, SPoD, Pink Life Association, Boğaziçi University LGBTI+ Club, Hacettepe Queer Research, Enes Hocaoğulları, HEVİ LGBTI+ Association, and İÜ Radar
Tags: human rights
