DP: Date Published: 15.09.2026 23:52 15 September 2026 23:52
~ MO: Modified On: 16.09.2026 00:17 16 September 2026 00:17
Read Read: 1 minute
Two reporters were among the detained as a crowd protested the Sep 13 anti-LGBTI+ raids.
Police detained dozens of people outside the İstanbul Courthouse in Çağlayan today during a protest against recent operations targeting the LGBTI+ community.
After a crowd including LGBTI+ activists, feminists, leftist groups, and union members gathered outside the courthouse, the police surrounded them and some journalists covering the protest.
Officers first removed most of the journalists from the area and then began the crackdown just as the group was reading out a statement denouncing the operation.
Still, at leat two journalists, BirGün reporter Sarya Toprak and ARD reporter Şener Arzak, were taken into custodu during the altercation.
The Human Rights Association (İHD) said police initially surrounded the group without issuing an order to disperse.
“They ordered the group to disperse when they were encircled without opening any corridor that would allow them to leave,” it said. “Detaining people with their hands cuffed behind their backs, which is a form of torture, is unacceptable.”
Video shows the moments of police warning the encircled group to disperse:
CANLI || İstanbul Adliyesi önünde basın açıklaması yapmak isteyen kadınlar gözaltına alınıyor https://t.co/LXGqO41j9t
— bianet (@bianet_org) September 15, 2026
The protest followed sweeping operations carried out in 15 provinces on Sep 13. More than 100 people were detained, while offices of LGBTI+ rights organizations and gay bars were raided.
Those detained face allegations including obscenity, prostitution-related offenses and drug-related crimes. The obscenity allegation at the center of the investigation reflects a broad interpretation that treats statements about LGBTI+ rights as obscene, rather than limiting the offense to sexually explicit content.
(VK)
related news
Source: BIANET
