Ahead of COP31, we spoke about the matter with Sinan Erensü from Center for Spatial Justice, Remzi Çelik from the Urban Heat Island Initiative, and Arif Künar from the Association for Fighting Energy Poverty (ENYOKDER). We also tallied the bill for the summer based on a survey answered by our readers.

In its recommendation issued on Oct 14, 2020, the European Union Commission defines energy poverty as a situation in which households are unable to afford their basic energy needs.

The Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects (UCTEA) Chamber of Mechanical Engineers 2026 report states that in Turkey, energy is not merely a matter of the poverty of energy that should be provided to citizens as a basic public service, but also an issue of general poverty. The EU Commission recommendation decision also includes the following statements:

Access to adequate heating, cooling, lighting, and energy to power appliances are essential services that underpin a decent standard of living and health.

The trajectory of energy poverty

Sinan Erensü from the Center for Spatial Justice says that until a decade ago, energy poverty was discussed in terms of access to energy resources. Erensü notes that with energy prices rising significantly over the past 15 years and accounting for a large portion of household budgets, the concept began to be discussed in Europe and the US. He outlines the current scope of energy poverty as follows:

This new scope encompasses energy poverty as both access to energy technologies and ensuring they do not strain household budgets. Furthermore, with the vulnerability brought by climate change, it involves obtaining this energy as much as possible from renewable sources and in a healthy manner.

'This is a decoupling'

The TMMOB Chamber of Mechanical Engineers' Energy Outlook of Turkey 2026 Report interprets the extent of energy poverty in Turkey through OECD data:

"Energy inflation in Turkey stands at 26 percent, while the OECD average is negative. This difference alone is striking. What is truly remarkable is this: in the countries ranking second on the list, energy inflation is around 7 percent. In other words, while Turkey experiences an increase nearly 3 to 4 times higher than the closest country, it stands in a direction completely opposite to the OECD average. Reading this picture merely as high inflation is insufficient.

This is a decoupling. Because under the same global conditions, while energy prices are falling in some countries and rising modestly in others, they are surging sharply in Turkey. This situation clearly demonstrates that the source of the problem is domestic, not external."

'Being prepared plays a decisive role'

Sinan Erensü states that energy poverty is measured in research through the payment amount reflected on utility bills, late payments, the insulation status of the household, and indoor heating levels.

Noting that Turkey ranks among the worst-performing countries in studies conducted for Europe, Erensü emphasizes that being prepared for cold weather is decisive here:

In places hit by one-week or 15-day cold waves in winter, where conditions intensify unexpectedly, energy poverty is experienced dramatically because unpreparedness also comes into play.

Furthermore, the heatwave warning systems guide by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) explicitly states that public health officials must develop and activate heatwave warning systems and prepare for extreme heat events in line with WHO-WMO guidelines.

Underlining that the concept of the right to cooling is the most current form of the energy poverty issue, Erensü says, "The aspect of coping with heat and heatwaves had not been brought to the agenda much until now. The 10 hottest summers globally were recorded in this century. In a sense, this is proof of how intense climate change has become and that we are living through it today."

Sinan Erensü adds that questions such as "Can you keep your home cool in the summer?" are now gradually being included in surveys.

Does legislation acknowledge energy poverty?

Stating that energy poverty is not yet officially recognized in Turkey and has not been incorporated into legislation, Arif Künar from the Association for Fighting Energy Poverty (ENYOKDER) says, "EU countries defined the concept of energy poverty in their energy directives using country-specific criteria. Under the Social Climate Fund, they have initiated implementation and transformation projects aimed at addressing buildings and energy poverty."

Künar says, "In our country, this concept needs to be defined in line with national conditions, its criteria established according to local realities, and poor households mapped out." He notes that, with contributions from EU support, local governments, and sectors, this process will reduce poverty, ensure climate justice, and support a fair transition to clean energy.

Sinan Erensü from the Center for Spatial Justice notes that incorporating this into legislation is possible by recognizing citizenship through the lens of energy. He points out that Turkey is heavily dependent on external energy sources, adding that energy must move beyond being a realm dominated solely by a few major players, corporations, and the state.

The poor suffer the most

Arif Künar from ENYOKDER says, "Due to energy sources becoming increasingly expensive and hard to access, energy continues to grow more costly and energy poverty continues to rise. Unfortunately, even harder days and years await us. We are facing an unfair and unacceptable situation." He adds:

Those most affected by this are not those who created the climate crisis, but the disadvantaged, vulnerable, and poor segments who have had the least impact.

Erensü states that culturally and socially, heat does not attract as much attention as cold, noting that even in imagery, energy poverty is suggested through "figures shivering from the cold without shoes." He shares the following:

"The groups affected by heat, heatwaves, and homes staying above a certain temperature during summer without cooling are the classically disadvantaged groups: tenants and low-income households. Added to these are those forced to spend most of the day at home. Working life is also difficult, but those living at home and spending most of their day indoors are children and housewives. Yet perhaps at the very top of this vulnerability list are the elderly."

Erensü says, "Therefore, we have reached a point where adaptation [climate adaptation] must also be viewed from the perspective of social justice, requiring focused work and precautionary measures."

WHO: Number of people exposed to extreme heat is increasing exponentially

The World Health Organization (WHO) states that in homes where vulnerable individuals such as the elderly, infants, the sick, and disabled live, keeping temperatures below maximum acceptable limits is of critical importance.

According to the WHO's Housing and Health Guidelines, indoor temperatures above 24 °C, especially when combined with high humidity, can strain the body's self-cooling mechanism, leading to thermal discomfort and various health risks.

According to the WHO, the number of people exposed to extreme heat across all regions of the world is increasing exponentially due to the climate crisis. Heat-related mortality rates among people over the age of 65 increased by nearly 85 percent between 2000-2004 and 2017-2021.

In Europe, data compiled from half the continent, described as incomplete, showed that 35,000 excess deaths were recorded in Aug 2026.

In May 2026, the WHO reported that the heat-related death rate in Europe had increased by more than 30 percent over the past 20 years, warning that this rate tends to rise significantly as a result of the climate crisis and an aging population.

In Turkey, however, because there is no data on this matter, it is unfortunately impossible to arrive at a rate.

Erensü criticizes the lack of data, reminding that temperatures felt inside households across many parts of Turkey are not at livable levels:

There are structural issues here as well. For instance, how many people died in the latest heatwave? We simply do not know, because we do not keep data on whether a death was caused by a heatwave. Central and local governments must collect data more proactively without fear of the responsibility it brings, share it regularly, and strive to reduce the numbers.

'Millions of households could pay double this year's bill next year'

Pointing out that electricity and natural gas subsidies are now being gradually reduced on a phased and province-by-province basis, Arif Künar states that the low-tariff threshold for electricity usage was 4,000 kWh/year this year. Künar estimates that this limit will likely be lowered to 3,000 kWh/year next year:

"So an average family of four consumes about 240 kWh/month. In this case, millions of households will pay nearly double what they paid for electricity this year."

Petition submitted to the bar association

At a panel organized by the İstanbul Medical Chamber (İTO) Climate Crisis Working Group on Jul 16, an urgent call was made for structural measures against global warming fueled by the human-made climate crisis. The panel highlighted that local governments should establish air-conditioned 'cooling spaces' for unhoused people and those living in deep poverty on days when heatwave warnings are issued.

On Jul 6, a petition was submitted to the İstanbul Bar Association Environmental Rights Commission Presidency, calling for the right to cooling to be evaluated within the scope of the right to life. The petition by the Urban Heat Island Initiative emphasized that the right to cooling is an integral part of the right to live in a healthy environment.

This right, referred to as the 'cooling right' or 'right to cooling' in English and 'soğutma hakkı' or 'serinleme hakkı' in Turkish, has gradually begun to be discussed worldwide.

The right to cooling can be briefly defined as the right to access living environments or spaces that are compatible with the climate. Framed under the 'right to adequate housing' recognized in international human rights law and within the context of general health, the right to cooling points to numerous inequalities.

An article authored by Marine Cornelis and published by the European Commission in Jan 2025, titled 'Framing Summer Energy Poverty,' also outlines a general framework for these inequalities. One of these is the inequality experienced between those who can access cooling devices such as air conditioners and those who cannot, who are instead exposed to the heat emitted into the atmosphere by these devices:

Urban planning, housing design, ventilation, green spaces. This is entirely about resilience.

Mechanical Engineer Remzi Çelik from the Urban Heat Island Initiative states that a suitable living environment must be provided to eliminate heat that poses a vital risk to living beings:

This problem occurs because we plan cities poorly.

Recalling Article 56 of the Constitution, which protects the 'right to live in a healthy environment,' Remzi Çelik points to the inequality in access to cooling devices such as air conditioners, electric fans, and blowers, while also emphasizing that the energy used for these devices must be clean energy.

Explaining that closely built, vertical structures with glass facades create an urban oven effect in the areas where they are constructed, preventing solar energy from returning to the atmosphere, Çelik shares the following:

"What we call energy inequality is actually a concept that gets a very large share from cooling as well. Today, despite having air conditioners at home, people spent a summer choosing not to run them due to utility bills, accepting the situation at the expense of their health. I see this among my friends, all around me."

'Every tree must be adopted'

Conveying his observations from the Validebağ Grove, Remzi Çelik notes that he recorded a temperature of 55 degrees Celsius on the asphalt 50 meters away, but 26 degrees Celsius under the trees inside the grove. Stating that every tree must be adopted, Çelik notes the following:

"I am inside the forest, in a place with very tall trees. Here, you can very clearly see what the urban heat island effect, the microclimate inside the city, and its impact on the cooling energy in our homes really mean."

Resilient cities

United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also stated on Jul 31 that referring to heatwaves as 'silent killers' does not even fully reveal the scale of the issue, saying, "Because heat-related deaths worldwide are largely underreported."

On the other hand, the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) has classified extreme heat and urban heat islands under the disaster risk category. The need for resilient cities has come to the fore significantly in protecting against this risk.

Resilient cities have also found a place in the statements of the Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Ministry within the scope of COP31.

Stating, "If you have poor urbanization, if it is based on rent, it magnifies this effect even further," Remzi Çelik expresses the following:

Stating, "If you have poor urbanization, if it is based on rent, it magnifies this effect even further," Remzi Çelik expresses the following:

"If the urban heat island effect is included in a disaster definition, it means we must now prepare for it. The global climate crisis is a reality. Phase-out of fossil fuels is a mandatory plan. But people perceive this like a distant photograph. However, people experience its consequences on the poor urbanization side in the city by walking and having to work on an asphalt surface at 55 to 60 degrees. The urban heat island effect is a situation we live in directly."

Where does renewable energy stand in poverty?

Mentioning that the increase in access to and use of renewable energy appears to be a candidate for reducing energy poverty, Arif Künar offers a suggestion regarding cooperatives:

"However, because it is not yet adequately used due to being expensive and regulatory constraints, it is not reflected in utility bills."

Stating that energy communities for self-consumption and energy cooperatives can be established, Künar says, "If the ministry, EPDK, and similar bodies open the way for this, and if certain grants, tax, excise duty, VAT reductions, and privileged incentives are provided, and if local governments can support households, the use of renewable energy through rooftop, balcony solar power systems, and remote access models will quickly reflect positively on utility bills for the energy poor, even if partially."

^{Fotoğraf: AA}

Sinan Erensü also says that energy and citizen cooperatives in production can survive thanks to production systems led sometimes by municipalities and sometimes entirely by citizen initiatives. Touching upon consumption cooperatives, Erensü explains this as households dealing with companies not individually, but regionally and collectively. Erensü points out that making collective purchases in this process could create a space where citizens also have a say in the energy issue.

Energy poverty at climate summits

When we asked Erensü how much space is given to energy poverty at the United Nations Conferences of the Parties (COP), he says that mitigation-focused discussions were mostly held at the climate summits until recently:

"This has actually changed significantly in the last 5 to 10 years. Because the climate crisis is no longer something that will happen in the future. It is something happening right now. Adaptation, adapting to the changing climate, has become as important an item as mitigation and prevention."

Conveying that there are right and wrong paths taken on energy at COPs so far, Künar shares the following:

The exit from coal is not yet clear, and nuclear energy is unfortunately brought back to the agenda with COP. The issue of financing and emission monitoring issues are also vague. Supports and promises always remain in words, and time is running out. Negative impacts are gradually increasing. Developing countries like ours suffer more and are caught in the middle.

Künar states that grants and incentives similar to EU countries are demanded so that self-consumption can be achieved with rooftop and balcony solar panels, as well as the ability to establish Renewable Energy Cooperatives. He adds that many local governments have now set the elimination of energy poverty as a goal in the Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan (SECAP) they prepared, and that the implementation of these will be important.

^AA

'The solution is possible by transitioning to a system in favor of the ecosystem'

Underlining that the entire ecosystem is affected by extreme heat, Remzi Çelik shares the following regarding COP31:

"Reaching the 31st edition of conferences where such important issues are discussed reveals the insincerity of this business in the first place. In addition, there is an alternative effort called the peoples' climate summit. They are also making very active, alternative preparations."

Using the expressions "I am among those who say there is a system crisis, not a climate crisis," Çelik underlines that solutions must be generated against fossil fuels and consumption beyond need:

At COPs, politicians are constantly telling each other 'you start first.' It has not been the future, safety, and comfort of the ecosystem, but the comfort and profit of corporations that have been at the forefront so far, which is how we arrived at 31. The solution will only be possible by transitioning to a system in favor of the ecosystem.

(CA/VK)

Eighty-two people were detained following countrywide raids on LGBTI+ rights groups' offices, homes and venues in operations dubbed as "My Family Is Safe."

LGBTI+ groups are facing "obscenity" charges in the investigation.

How Turkey’s vague obscenity law is becoming a tool to criminalize LGBTI+ visibility

18 September 2026

She said those held in the L4 prison had faced discrimination, torture and ill-treatment during their first 48 hours in custody.

“Our struggle will of course continue to ensure that those responsible are prosecuted for the discrimination, torture and ill-treatment amounting to hate crimes that our friends now held in the L4 ward were subjected to during the first 48 hours,” Saki said.

She also cited hygiene and access to health care among the detainees’ main concerns, adding that inadequate access to health care and delays are also among the problems.

Police raids, online censorship target Turkey’s LGBTI+ community in new crackdown

13 September 2026

Sleeping on the floor

Saki said detainees held in Sincan Women’s Prison had also reported inadequate accommodation. “The most important issue is that, except for one person, our friends here are still being forced to sleep on the concrete floor,” she noted.

Saki quoted the detainees as saying their most urgent needs were “a bunk bed, a locker and a smoke-free room.”

“At a time when no section of society is safe, this operation, in which Akın Gürlek says ‘my family is safe’ while targeting LGBTI+ associations and solidarity, is in fact a hate crime under all human rights legislation,” she said, criticizing the investigation.

“All our friends must be released immediately, without waiting for a detention review,” Saki added. “Solidarity is our strength, freedom is our goal!” (VK)

Ten people detained after the shooting, including the 15-year-old suspect, their parents and grandparents. Family members are being held responsible over the child’s access to the firearm. Three other minors are also in custody.

Gülizar Biçer Karaca, an MP for the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), shared with bianet notes from a fact-finding visit that included meetings with students, families, health care workers and school administrators following the shooting.

Karaca’s notes detail parents’ concerns about sending their children back to school, security measures around the campus and an unverified allegation about the conduct of private security personnel during the attack.

‘How are we supposed to trust the state?’

According to the notes, the delegation first visited Turgutlu State Hospital after arriving in the district.

A deputy chief physician told the delegation that eight injured students had been treated or undergone surgery at Turgutlu State Hospital, one at Manisa City Hospital and two at Manisa Celal Bayar University Faculty of Medicine Hospital.

The delegation visited four students receiving treatment at Turgutlu State Hospital and spoke with them about their health and what they had experienced. Karaca said the students they visited were generally in good condition.

The delegation also met with family members and relatives at the hospital. Karaca’s notes said anxiety, anger and distrust were prominent during the conversations.

“We are not even sending our children to school anymore. Solve this problem. How are we supposed to trust the state?” parents were quoted as saying.

Karaca said the families’ comments showed that the attack had become a broader issue of safety and trust for students and parents across the district, not only for those who were injured.

What did the school administration say?

After visiting the hospital, the delegation went to the CHP’s Turgutlu district office and later met with administrators at the school where the attack took place.

Notes from the meeting with the school principal said the 15-year-old accused of carrying out the shooting was a ninth-grade student who opened fire on students near the school entrance.

A shotgun was used in the attack, which took place outside the school building on the street where students were arriving for classes.

According to the principal, at least eight of those injured were students at İnci Üzmez Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School. Three others were waiting in the area for transportation to other schools.

Karaca noted that the breakdown was based on interviews conducted during the visit and had not yet been confirmed in that level of detail in publicly available official statements.

Allegation involving security personnel

During meetings at the school, the delegation was also told that a private security guard was among the first people to leave the school during the attack.

Karaca said the delegation had not independently verified the allegation and that it should be specifically examined as part of the administrative investigation.

The notes also pointed out that the attack occurred as students were arriving at school and called for scrutiny of security measures at school entrances and surrounding areas, as well as the responsibilities of security personnel during a crisis.

Attack came a day after school security meeting

Karaca also drew attention to the timing of the attack.

A “School Security” meeting had been held on Sep 21 at the Interior Ministry’s Security and Emergency Coordination Center (GAMER), attended by Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi and National Education Minister Yusuf Tekin. Governors from all 81 provinces joined by video conference.

The meeting addressed a cooperation protocol prepared by seven ministries aimed at strengthening protective and preventive measures for children during their education.

Çiftçi had said security measures were increased after attacks during the previous school year and that 31,000 schoolyard personnel had been employed for the first time this year.

Karaca said the fact that a child was able to arrive near a school with a firearm the following morning and injure 11 students raised questions about how those measures were being implemented and whether existing security mechanisms were adequate.

“The incident clearly demonstrates that the measures announced following previous school attacks were not sufficient to prevent this attack in Turgutlu,” the notes said.

Karaca said access to firearms, early identification of risks, security at and around school entrances, counseling services and the responsibilities of security personnel during emergencies should all be examined in detail.

Following the health information provided during the delegation’s visit, authorities said on Sep 25 that eight of the injured students had been discharged, while three remained under treatment. (NÖ/VK)

The Court of Accounts concluded that the ministry’s 2025 financial reports and statements generally contained “accurate and reliable information in all material respects.” However, its findings on city hospitals were presented separately from its audit opinion on the financial statements, under the “Other Findings” section on pages 32-53.

Final completion process unresolved at 17 hospitals

City hospital contracts require the Health Ministry to issue a final completion certificate 24 months after the issuance of the practical completion certificate. The Court of Accounts found that, as of the end of 2025, the ministry had not completed this process at 17 city hospitals even though the 24-month period had expired.

Kütahya City Hospital entered its operating phase in Mar 2024 and had therefore not yet reached the two-year threshold by the end of 2025.

The failure to close the final accounts also left financial obligations between the ministry and the companies unresolved. The Court of Accounts cited unfinished or omitted construction work, missing medical equipment and furnishings, discrepancies involving commercial and administrative areas, VAT exemptions and timing differences caused by projects being completed early or late.

The Health Ministry said it introduced new arrangements for final account procedures in 2025 and that commissions began work on the Elazığ, Eskişehir and İzmir projects in Jan 2026. The Court of Accounts said the ministry had still not completed the process for any hospital as of 2026.

Construction began before official site handover at all 18 hospitals

The Court of Accounts found that companies began construction before the official site handover at all 18 city hospitals it examined.

At Ankara Bilkent City Hospital, the company started construction about six months before the formal site handover. The ministry deducted those six months from the hospital’s operating period.

It did not make the same adjustment at the other city hospitals.

The Court of Accounts called on the ministry to use the actual construction start date at the other hospitals as well and recalculate their operating periods accordingly.

Unfinished work not reflected in payments

The Court of Accounts identified work that had been included in projects but was later abandoned by the ministry or left undone, incomplete or unfinished by companies. Some equipment was also not delivered.

Despite these shortcomings, the ministry did not deduct the value of the missing work and equipment from the total fixed investment amount or the related service fees.

The Court of Accounts said the ministry should recalculate investment amounts and service payments to reflect unfinished work and missing equipment.

The Court of Accounts found that the ministry had not made these adjustments in projects benefiting from the exemption.

It also found that, at some hospitals, companies were responsible for heating and cooling costs in areas used for laundry, catering, laboratory, imaging and sterilization services, but the ministry had not deducted those expenses from service payments.

The ministry said it had initiated deductions at 17 hospitals. The Court of Accounts said the documents submitted to it allowed it to verify deductions only at the Adana, Bursa, Elazığ, Kocaeli, Kütahya, Manisa, Tekirdağ and Mersin city hospitals. It said the procedures had not been completed at the other 10 hospitals.

Some companies used areas outside approved projects

The Court of Accounts found that some companies carried out commercial activities in areas larger than those specified in approved projects.

At some hospitals, commercial operators also used storage areas that were supposed to be reserved for the administration.

At the Kütahya and Tekirdağ city hospitals, the ministry had also not completed the acceptance process for commercial areas or set the applicable commercial activity fees.

The Court of Accounts called on the ministry to identify the additional commercial areas and calculate the amounts companies should pay for using them.

Missing and noncompliant medical equipment

The Court of Accounts also found shortcomings in medical equipment and furnishings that companies were contractually required to provide.

Acceptance records at Kütahya City Hospital listed some medical devices as “noncompliant.” Some devices lacked records in the Product Tracking System or certificates of service competence from the Turkish Standards Institution, while integration of some devices into the Hospital Information Management System had not been completed.

The company also delivered some furnishings incomplete.

Missing medical equipment was also identified at Kayseri City Hospital.

Faulty medical devices remained out of service for extended periods

The Court of Accounts also found that the ministry and companies had been unable to agree on who should cover the cost of repairing faulty medical devices.

In some cases, the parties could not determine whether malfunctions were caused by the company, the administration or third parties. High insurance deductibles also delayed repairs.

As a result, some medical devices remained out of service for extended periods.

The Court of Accounts said this had caused “disruptions in the provision of health services.”

It also noted that the contracts require companies to provide uninterrupted service despite disputes between the parties.

The Court of Accounts called on the ministry and the companies to jointly determine the causes of equipment failures, establish responsibility and return the devices to service.

Most sterilization delays were not reported

The Court of Accounts found that sterilization of operating room equipment at some city hospitals exceeded contractual time limits.

Most of the delays were not reported to the help desk, and no service failure points were calculated.

The Health Ministry said it had issued warnings to contractors, imposed penalties and service fee deductions, and taken corrective action for previous periods.

The Court of Accounts said the ministry had not provided documents proving these measures and that sterilization delays and failures to report them were continuing.

Market testing was delayed

City hospital contracts require the prices of certain services to be subjected to market testing at specified intervals. The process is intended to determine the most economically advantageous price for services and equipment.

The Court of Accounts found that market testing had not begun at all at the Kayseri, Manisa, İstanbul Başakşehir and Tekirdağ city hospitals.

At the Mersin, Yozgat, Elazığ Fethi Sekin, Ankara and Bursa city hospitals, the ministry completed market testing for some services but had not finalized the process for building and land services, shared services management and the Hospital Information Management System.

The ministry also acknowledged delays in the market testing process.

The Court of Accounts called on the ministry to address the delays and complete the tests according to the contractual schedule.

(VC/VK)

The board concluded that feeding animals on the streets could “cause them to establish breeding and living areas” and imposed the ban on that basis.

District municipalities will monitor compliance with the decision.

The board decided that neighborhood heads should notify the relevant municipality when stray animals are identified in their neighborhoods.

The police and gendarmerie will also conduct inspections across the province. They were instructed to notify the relevant district municipalities “immediately” when animals are found.

Municipalities will assess reports submitted by police, gendarmerie units and neighborhood heads. District governor’s offices will report the work carried out each month to the Erzurum Nature Conservation and National Parks Directorate.

Collection of stray dogs across Turkey

Amendments to the Animal Protection Law adopted in 2024 require municipalities to take unowned stray dogs to shelters and keep them there until they are adopted.

Animal rights advocates have described the legislation as a “massacre law,” warning that removing animals from their living areas and confining them to inadequate shelters could lead to deaths.

Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi said on Sep 18 that 99.2 percent of stray animals across Turkey had been collected. The figure has not been independently verified, although the number of dogs living on the streets has been observed to decline. Cats, meanwhile, do not appear to have been targeted by the collection efforts so far.

The Union of Turkish Bar Associations (TBB) said in a statement in April that  had died because of inadequate health care and conditions at shelters. It also reported cases of neglect and mistreatment, including starvation, improper transportation and inadequate care.

Turkey’s parliament approves controversial euthanasia measure for stray dogs

29 July 2024

(NÖ/VK)

Reports examining links between some investment and portfolio management companies, their shareholders and public figures had been blocked. 

On Sep 17, the Capital Markets Board (SPK) placed 131 funds managed by Tera, Pusula, Hedef, Atlas, A1 Portföy, Pardus and Bulls Portföy into liquidation and restricted transactions.

Data from the Central Securities Depository (MKK) showed that 455,758 individual investors held assets in those funds.

Turkey’s investment fund crisis in 10 questions: Phantom returns and a market meltdown

21 September 2026

The restrictions were imposed under Article 8/A of the Internet Law No 5651, which allows allows the Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK) to impose access restrictions in urgent cases, upon requests from ministries or the Presidency, for purposes including protecting life, property, national security and public order. Such decisions are submitted for judicial approval after their implementation. 

The measures followed earlier restrictions on social media accounts discussing the same financial developments. İFÖD reported on Sep 22 that the BTK and courts had ordered access restrictions on numerous X accounts over allegations that they had published content intended to fuel speculation.

The 194 affected accounts in the initial wave included economists Uğur Gürses and Veysel Ulusoy, former Treasury undersecretary Bilge Yılmaz, and journalists Naz Yavuzarslan and Dinçer Gökçe. İFÖD estimated that the accounts had about 12 million followers combined.

Notably, the measures did not specifically target the content related to the investment fund crisis and entire accounts have been made inaccessible from Turkey.

Censored news articles

Coverage of the companies has also focused on their ownership and management structures. An investigation by the T24 news site based on corporate records found that boards of holding companies behind some of the fund managers included publicly known figures such as a university rector, a former ambassador and the spouse of a former deputy minister.

Gazete Pencere, citing its calculations based on fund data, reported that 15,964 investors redeemed more than 132 billion liras in fund shares during a period that began about two weeks before the liquidation decision. The timing prompted questions over whether some transactions may have involved insider information.

BIA Media Monitoring Reports

13 December 2024

(AEK/VK)

X complied with the decision and made the account unavailable to users in Turkey.

The restriction was imposed under Article 8/A of Turkey’s Internet Law No. 5651, which is commonly used by Turkish courts when ordering access blocks. 

“I have become the subject of the issue I constantly raise,” Akdeniz told bianet. “As a lawyer and a law professor, I do not know under which decision and on what grounds my account was blocked. I do not know which court issued this decision. I do not know why X made my account invisible with lightning speed. Since the decision has not been served on me, I cannot pursue legal remedies.”

“Of course, one day it will be everyone’s turn. I am not surprised, but I did not expect it,” he added, saying he would continue his work against censorship.

Article 8/A allows authorities to block online content on grounds including protecting the right to life, personal and property safety, national security and public order, preventing crime and protecting public health.

The provision has become a key legal basis for access restrictions after the Constitutional Court struck down Article 9 of the law, which concerned violations of personal rights, in Oct 2023.

The decision against Akdeniz follows a series of recent restrictions targeting the social media accounts of journalists, rights advocates, media outlets and women’s and LGBTI+ organizations.

Turkey blocks over 400 social media accounts belonging to journalists, rights groups

17 September 2026

Recently, the X accounts of the Mor Çatı Women’s Shelter Foundation, Lambdaistanbul, SPoD and numerous other women’s and LGBTI+ organizations were blocked under the same provision.

Evrensel newspaper, Amnesty International Turkey, Academics for Peace and the Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA) have also faced similar restrictions.

İFÖD has long monitored and reported on access bans targeting websites, news reports and social media content in Turkey. (HA/VK)

Kemal Türkyılmaz was elected acting mayor in the fourth round of voting held yesterday on the Büyükada island, receiving all five votes cast after opposition members withdrew in protest over the procedure.

The Republican People’s Party (CHP) won the Princes’ Islands mayoralty with 55.49% of the vote in the 2024 local elections, while the AKP candidate received 22.85%. The CHP had secured 10 of the 12 seats on the municipal council, with the AKP taking two.

The balance on the council changed after a corruption investigation was launched into the municipality in June. A total of five councik members from the CHP, including Mayor Ali Ercan Akpolat and his deputy, were suspended from office after being detained on allegations including bribery, extortion, forgery of official documents and abuse of office.

Thirty-one opposition mayors removed from office since 2024 elections

2 April 2026

The council elected CHP member Medine Pamuk as acting mayor on Jun 27. She resigned on Sep 14 citing health problems.

A new election scheduled for Sep 21 could not be held because CHP members did not attend, preventing the council from reaching the required count. The vote was rescheduled for yesterday.

Before yesterday’s vote, a substitute member joined the council in place of one of the suspended members. Seven of the nine members eligible to vote were therefore members of the CHP.

Despite that composition, the AKP candidate received five votes in the first round, while the CHP candidate received four. Arguments broke out in the council chamber after the vote, and the room was cleared.

Following the dispute, an MP from the New (Yeni) Party, a splinter movement from the CHP, told Halk TV that one of the council members detained in the initial investigation had been reinstated in exchange for voting for the AKP.

“Five of our friends were detained. Three are still in prison and two were released. However, among those two, the restriction on only one of them was lifted and he was reinstated so that he could vote for the AKP,” the official claimed.

Opposition members protested the process by withdrawing from the fourth round. AKP's Türkyılmaz then received all five votes cast and was elected acting mayor.

Ankara mayor resigns from CHP, citing disruption of opposition unity

23 September 2026

Eight districts changed hands after election

The result raised the number of İstanbul district municipalities controlled by the AKP to 21.

In the 2024 local elections, the CHP won 26 of İstanbul’s 39 district municipalities, while the AKP won 13. Eight municipalities in the city have changed hands since nationwide corruption investigations targeting the CHP began in March 2025.

Üsküdar, one of İstanbul’s major districts, also passed to AKP control on Sep 8 after some council members were detained and others changed parties.

New Party officials alleged that some council members who switched sides in Üsküdar had been threatened with imprisonment. The party also expressed concern that similar methods could be used to secure control of the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality.

İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu was jailed pending trial in a corruption investigation in March last year and remains in custody. The metropolitan municipality is currently run by an acting mayor from the opposition.

Opposition concerned over İstanbul takeover as council member resigns

18 September 2026

(VK)

Samancı, who has lived mainly in Switzerland since 2008, was later released under judicial control with a ban on leaving the country.

After procedures at the airport, Samancı appeared by video link before a judge in Diyarbakır. The judgeship approved the prosecutor's request for judicial control and imposed the travel ban.

Her lawyer and human rights defender Eren Keskin announced the detention on social media.

(AEK/VK)

According to the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD), the tremor occurred at a depth of 7.39 kilometers.

The earthquake was felt across surrounding provinces, prompting some residents to evacuate buildings and gather in open outdoor areas, Anadolu Agency (AA) reported.

Boğaziçi University Kandilli Observatory and Earthquake Research Institute (KOERI) reported the magnitude of the earthquake at 5.5 and its depth at 5.1 kilometers.

Urfa was one of the 10 provinces experienced destruction in the double earthquake in Feb 2023 that claimed more than 50,000 lives in Turkey and Syria's north. (VC/VK)

“The process that began on March 19 and continued with many legal and political debates, including discussions about absolute nullity, has brought politics in Turkey to a point that we all follow with regret,” Yavaş said in a written statement posted on social media.

His remarks referred to a sweeping judicial crackdown on CHP-run municipalities involving corruption investigations that began in March last year with the arrest of now-suspended İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu and the removal of the party leadership by a court order in May this year. The court reinstated former leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, declaring a Nov 2023 leadership election null over alleged irregularities. 

Since the corruption crackdown began, more than 35 opposition mayors have been arrested and suspended from office, while some mayors and municipal council members have switched to the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).

Opposition concerned over İstanbul takeover as council member resigns

18 September 2026

Özgür Özel formed the New (Yeni) Party in July after his court-ordered ouster, with most CHP deputies and mayors joining him. Yavaş, however, remained in the CHP.

In his resignation announcement, the mayor offered an implicit explanation for his decision not to switch to the New Party:

“If there is to be a democratic change of government in Turkey, the path to achieving it lies not in the opposition consuming itself, but in its ability to come together on shared principles.

"When people go to the polls, they vote not only for a name but also for a political will. For this reason, I did not, and still do not, consider it right to disregard the will of the voters or to move the positions obtained through their votes to political entities that the voters have not endorsed."

Yavaş was elected mayor of the capital in 2019 with more than 50% of the vote. He was re-elected in 2024, increasing his vote share to over 60%.

Hours after Yavaş'a announcement, six district mayors in Ankara also resigned from the CHP. The mayors of Kalecik, Beypazarı, Güdül, Polatlı, Ayaş and Şereflikoçhisar declared support for Yavaş and said that they will remain independent.

Yavaş's meeting with Erdoğan

Yavaş visited President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at the Presidential Complex on Sep 9, fueling speculation that he might follow other opposition mayors in resigning from the CHP or joining Erdoğan’s AKP.

He denied the speculation, saying the meeting focused solely on securing financing for large-scale projects planned in Ankara.

The timing of the meeting also drew attention, as Sep 9 marks the anniversary of the Turkish army’s capture of İzmir in 1922, a major turning point in the War of Independence. Yavaş met Erdoğan that day instead of attending events organized by the CHP, the founding party of the republic, prompting criticism.

Yavaş also addressed the criticism in his statement:

“Previously, I had stated that if there was any dissatisfaction within the party regarding me personally or the stance I have taken, I would take the necessary steps.

“And in light of certain statements made today, I am resigning from my membership in the Republican People’s Party and am submitting my decision to continue my political path as an independent to the public’s judgment.”

He did not specify which statements he was referring to. CHP spokesperson Müslüm Sarı indirectly criticized today without naming him, saying that the party’s institutional identity is above individuals and that mayors are expected to attend events organized by the party. (VK)

The Ankara 6th Penal Judgeship of Peace cited allegations of "violating the Law on Associations," "facilitating the publication of obscene material" and "obscenity in places visible to children" as grounds for Erdoğan and others' detention.

In a statement responding to the detentions, GALADER said, "Nedime Erdoğan is not only the mother of an LGBTI+ child, but also a committed rights advocate who has fought for equal citizenship and human rights for years. Defending rights is not a crime, but a fundamental right."

From ‘public morality’ to ‘My Family Is Safe’: 20 years of repression against Kaos GL

18 September 2026

'Aren't we families, too?'

GALADER Chair Atilla Dirim told bianet that the operations, Erdoğan's detention and rhetoric targeting LGBTI+s had heightened anxiety among their families.

"They say, 'My Family Is Safe,' but we are not safe. Aren't we families, too? Do we have to mistreat our children to be recognized as families? They act as if our children don't have families," he said.

Dirim said LGBTI+s were being portrayed as the cause of safety concerns in society. "Our children are being made scapegoats. The real reasons families are not safe are not our children, but the murders of women we witness every day, violence against women and growing poverty," he said.

Dirim added that they would continue to challenge policies he described as discriminatory against LGBTI+s.

Health Ministry cites ‘family values’ for hormone therapy access restrictions

11 September 2026

(DE/NÖ/VK)

Turkish Airlines and AJet currently show no flights to Iran in their booking systems through Mar 2027. Pegasus has also removed Iran services from its reservation system, with no Iranian cities appearing in flight searches.

The suspensions followed a Sep 8 decision by the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to indefinitely suspend General License J-1.

The license had allowed foreign airlines to temporarily bring US-made aircraft, or aircraft containing significant amounts of US-origin parts and technology, into Iran. It enabled carriers to operate Airbus and Boeing aircraft on Iranian routes.

Its suspension exposed airlines whose fleets consist entirely of such aircraft to potential US sanctions.

The US also added 27 Iranian airlines to its sanctions list on Sep 8 and warned that foreign companies providing services to Iran’s aviation sector could face sanctions.

The US Treasury Department alleges that Iran’s aviation sector is used to transport weapons and personnel, citing those claims as the basis for the sanctions. (HA/VK)

The group said some of those arrested in the Sep 13 "My Family Is Safe" operations were being held in isolation without a medical basis.

Police raids, online censorship target Turkey’s LGBTI+ community in new crackdown

13 September 2026

"HIV status can never be grounds for isolation," Pozitif Alan said, noting that the virus is not transmitted through everyday contact, including sharing the same space or skin contact.

"This practice is contrary to scientific facts, discriminatory, and degrading to human dignity," it added.

Turkish Medical Association condemns targeting of health groups in anti-LGBTI+ operations

21 September 2026

Medication access

Pozitif Alan also raised concerns about possible disruptions to medication and treatment for people living with HIV in prison.

"Continuity of HIV treatment is vital," the statement said. "Any delay or interruption in access to medication would seriously endanger the health of those imprisoned."

The group called on prison administrations and the Health Ministry to guarantee uninterrupted access to medication and necessary healthcare services for imprisoned people living with HIV.

Pozitif Alan further said some of the jailed rights advocates had worked to improve access to HIV testing, treatment and prevention services. It warned that treating such work as criminal activity could undermine HIV prevention efforts and public health. (NÖ/VK)

An 15-year-old suspect were taken into custody after the attack as judicial and administrative investigations were launched.

The Manisa Governor’s Office said the incident occurred around 8 am local time (GMT+3) near İnci Üzmez Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School in the Turgutlu district.

Following the attack, Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi and National Education Minister Yusuf Tekin traveled to Manisa.

Speaking to reporters there, Çiftçi said the school where the attack took place was classified by authorities a high-risk school:

"I wish a speedy recovery to our injured children. Three of our children are still undergoing treatment in the intensive care unit.

"The school where the attack took place is classified as a level 1 high-risk school. We do not view school safety as limited to police measures alone. Parents have a responsibility as well. They must monitor whether their children go to school, where they go, and which websites they visit when they return home from school.

"The weapon used in the incident was registered to the grandmother; the perpetrator picked up the child from the grandfather’s home and carried out the attack."

Police detain 27 in incel group probe over alleged school shooting plans

11 September 2026

Broadcast ban

Following the attack, the Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) issued a broadcast ban, prohibiting the media from covering the scene of the incident.

RTÜK called on media organizations to rely strictly on official statements and avoid publishing unverified information.

The watchdog requested that outlets refrain from broadcasting violent, traumatic, or frightening imagery and respect the privacy of students and families. Legal sanctions will be applied otherwise, it warned.

Secutity measures

Security measures for the 2026-2027 academic year had been announced by the Manisa Governor’s Office on Sep 18. Under the plan, 531 courtyard security personnel were assigned across 507 schools in the province, with 118 personnel in 59 teams deployed during school entry and exit hours.

Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi and National Education Minister Yusuf Tekin also held a School Security meeting via video conference with governors from 81 provinces one day before the attack to discuss protective and preventive measures for student safety.

School safety concerns increased in Turkey, where such shootings are traditionally rare, after two consecutive deadly incidents in April, in Urfa and Maraş.

Nine killed in second school shooting in Turkey in two days

15 April 2026

(NÖ/VK)

The regulation arrived 10 months later. Pusula Portföy sparked the collapse, followed by other portfolio management companies. The stock market crashed, leaving more than 500,000 investors with losses amounting to billions of liras.

What comes next remains uncertain. The Capital Markets Board (SPK) liquidated the funds, but it is unclear when investors will receive their money, or how much of it they will get back.

As the process continues, let us look back at Turkey’s new crisis—fund manipulation—in 10 questions.

Funds defaulted, stock market triggered circuit breakers

What exactly is the "fund crisis" shaking Turkey’s stock market and financial agenda?

The root cause of the crisis was certain funds buying up shares in companies with low market values to artificially inflate their prices.

It began when these funds failed to generate enough cash to meet investors’ redemption and sell requests on time.

The first break occurred at Pusula Portföy, which failed to fulfill withdrawal requests for some of its funds. Soon after, Tera Portföy defaulted on its own funds.

Fears quickly spread across the market that funds would be forced to sell off shares to raise cash. On Sep 16, BIST 100 triggered circuit breakers, sending many stocks to their lower price limits.

The SPK intervened on Sep 17, suspending trading on TEFAS for all funds managed by seven portfolio management companies: Tera, Pusula, Hedef, Atlas, A1 Capital, Pardus, and Bulls Portföy. It ordered the liquidation of 131 of these funds.

İş Bankası was appointed to liquidate Tera funds, while Ziraat Bankası was assigned to handle the remaining six companies. The maximum liquidation period, initially set at three months, was extended to six months by an SPK decision on Sep 20. The SPK noted that this does not necessarily mean the liquidation process will take the full six months.

The secret behind the 4,000% return

How much return did these funds generate? How did the system work?

In 2025, average returns for equity umbrella funds across Borsa İstanbul ranged between 19.70% and 27%, falling behind both inflation and deposit yields.

However, certain hedge funds managed by the portfolio companies now under investigation and liquidation reported returns entirely detached from market reality.

The most striking example was the Tera Portföy First Hedge Fund, known as TLY, which delivered a return of 4,233% in 2025. In the same year, the BIST 100 returned just 14.6%. The fund's total value surged from 889 million liras to 35.3 billion liras, while its investor count jumped from 11 to 43,228.

Simplified, the mechanism worked like this: The fund heavily buys low-float shares – the share price rises – the fund's reported value and return increase – high returns attract new investors – new money flows into the fund – the fund buys more shares…

Pusula Portföy's transactions in Gündoğdu Gıda (GUNDG) serve as a clear example of this dynamic.

On Feb 19, 2026, Pusula funds began purchasing GUNDG shares at around 340 liras. The funds' total stake in the company was roughly 25%. Purchases continued in the following months. By Aug 18, Pusula funds were still buying shares in the same company at prices between 1,593 and 1,816 liras, bringing their total stake in GUNDG capital to 38.67%.

As a result, some of these companies reached market valuations higher than Turkey’s largest industrial giants.

SPK introduced new regulations, spark legal exit

Why did the crisis break out now?

On Aug 28, the SPK published its comprehensive Fund Guide, which it had been working on for some time. The new rules tightened restrictions on related-party transactions, fund concentration, valuation methods, and hedge fund operations.

Under the new rules, a hedge fund can hold a maximum of 8% of the circulating shares of a company whose free float rate is below 25%.

This ceiling drops to 6%, 4%, and 2% as the free float rate increases. In addition, investments that individually make up more than 5% of a fund portfolio cannot collectively exceed 20% of the total portfolio.

This new regulation reversed an already fragile structure. Portfolios heavily invested in illiquid shares—or shares whose prices were closely tied to the funds' own buying—struggled or failed to meet investor cash demands.

Payment bottlenecks triggered a exit from the funds, which quickly spilled over into the broader stock market.

Artificial price movements are a crime

What are the manipulation allegations based on?

At the core of the manipulation allegations is artificial pricing. In other words, funds took very large positions in stocks with low free floats, and these purchases pushed up stock prices and fund returns in a way that fed into each other.

Under Article 107 of the Capital Markets Law, this is explicitly defined as a crime.

In addition, the SPK stated on Sep 18 that starting from the final quarter of 2025, funds belonging to certain portfolio management companies, particularly hedge funds and money market funds, led to price movements in low-float stocks that could not be explained by the companies' economic reality or basic financial figures. It explicitly defined one of the objectives of the regulation enacted on Aug 28 as "limiting the opportunity for manipulation through funds."

Debated for the last two years

Why did the SPK not intervene earlier?

On Nov 4, 2025, Mehmet Şimşek said at the Turkey Capital Markets Congress, "We know that manipulations are taking place through certain funds," noting a lack of regulation in this area.

The SPK, in its statement on Sep 18, 2026, claimed that it had observed unusual price movements in low-float stocks in the final quarter of 2025.

On Dec 2, the Financial Stability Committee discussed the issue, and on Dec 3, a working group was established within the SPK. On Dec 18, the financial asset threshold required for qualified investors was raised from 1 million liras to 10 million liras.

However, the comprehensive regulation came months later. The draft was sent to the Treasury and Finance Ministry on Jan 28, 2026; industry opinions were gathered in February; and feedback was requested from the Central Securities Depository (MKK). Takasbank and the Turkish Capital Markets Association (TSPB) requested that changes first be made to TEFAS's netting and settlement mechanism. The new TEFAS principles took effect on Jul 20. The SPK also noted a change in the institution's presidency in May 2026.

Yet the announced timeline falls short of answering the question of why the SPK delayed its intervention. Market experts had begun bringing up and discussing the issue in late 2024. Some financial journalists also reported that industry experts were discussing the manipulation among themselves, but hesitated to speak publicly due to legal threats from Tera Board Chairman Emre Tezmen. Tezmen is not only the head of Tera. He has served on the board of the MKK, a critical infrastructure institution for capital markets, since August 2023. His name was quietly removed from the organization's website on Sep 18.

Tera's political connections

Is Emre Tezmen the only person with political connections?

The boards of the holding companies behind the portfolio management companies involved in artificial price movements are striking. There is a wide list of names from various fields.

For instance, Prof. Dr. Emre Alkin is among the board members of Tera Yatırım Menkul Değerler. According to Public Disclosure Platform (KAP) records, Alkin's election date to the Tera Portföy board of directors was Jun 26, 2026. Alkin previously served on the Presidential Academic Advisory Council. He is also the rector of İstanbul Topkapı University and writes a column for the Ekonomim newspaper.

His brother, Prof. Dr. Kerem Alkin, is another name on the board of directors. He served as Turkey's Permanent Representative and Ambassador to the OECD from 2021 to 2024. He previously served on the boards of the Turkey Wealth Fund and Halkbank. He wrote economic columns for various newspapers and worked as an economic commentator for channels such as TV8, Skytürk, A Haber, CNN Türk, TRT Haber, and TV100. He currently writes a column for the Sabah newspaper.

Presidential Senior Advisor Fecir Alptekin also served as an independent board member at Tera for about 2 months.

Funds transferred to banks

What did the SPK do now, and how will the liquidation of the funds take place?

Liquidation will not involve selling off all fund shares on the stock market at once. İş Bankası took over the management of Tera funds for liquidation purposes, while Ziraat Bankası took over the funds of the other six companies. MKK and the banks will reconcile investors' participation shares, along with any pledges, liens, or unexecuted orders.

Fund assets will then be liquidated into cash over time, taking market depth, liquidity, and investor interest into account. The resulting cash can be distributed to investors' accounts in proportion to their shares, meaning it may not be necessary to wait for the complete end of the liquidation process.

On Sep 20, the maximum period was extended from three months to six months. The SPK cited portfolio structures and market conditions as the rationale, stating that the goal is to sell off assets under the most favorable conditions possible.

This extension also indirectly demonstrates an important reality: Converting entire fund portfolios into cash quickly is difficult enough to put severe pressure on prices.

Investors will take a loss on their money

What will happen to the money of investors who cannot withdraw their funds? Will they get all of it back?

The separation of fund assets from the portfolio management company's own capital is a crucial protection for investors. A fund's shares, cash, and other assets do not go to the company's creditors simply due to the portfolio management company's financial troubles. The portfolio custodian also has an obligation to hold these assets in separate accounts.

However, this does not mean that the total amount at the latest fund price seen by the investor is guaranteed by the state or any other institution.

Banks will sell off the assets in the portfolio, and the realized cash will be distributed to investors in proportion to their participation shares.

If shares are sold at lower prices than before the crisis, or if the fund has liabilities, investors may receive less money than the last announced fund value.

The Investor Compensation Center also does not cover losses arising from normal market price movements, as losses stemming from market price movements fall outside the scope of protection.

Therefore, how much each person will receive depends on the prices at which the assets in the portfolio can be converted into cash.

Liquidated funds worth over 18 billion dollars

Is the crisis limited to these funds, or is there a risk for the entire mutual fund system in Turkey?

Treasury and Finance Minister Şimşek said that the funds entering liquidation have a volume of around 18.3 billion dollars, but emphasized that 90% of the fund market continues to operate normally, arguing there is no widespread systemic risk.

At the end of August, the total size of mutual funds in Turkey was around 11.1 trillion liras. Thus, while the group being liquidated is very large, it does not represent the entire sector.

Names taken into custody

What is the status of the judicial investigation?

The process surrounding the fund crisis has also turned into a judicial investigation. On Sep 17, the SPK filed a criminal complaint against numerous individuals under Article 107/1 of the Capital Markets Law, which regulates market fraud, due to transactions involving Katılımevim (KTLEV), Gündoğdu Gıda (GUNDG), and Destek Finans Faktoring (DSTKF) shares.

The investigation is being conducted by the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office Bureau for Investigation of Financing of Terrorism and Laundering Crimes. Four suspects have been arrested in the investigation. Pusula Portföy Board Chairman Muhammed Yarız and Destek Holding owner Altunç Kumova are among those arrested. Overseas travel bans and asset freezes were also imposed on 51 individuals.

On Sep 19, the scope of the investigation was expanded. Pusula Holding Board Chairman Serdar Turhan, Tera Yatırım Holding Board Chairman Emre Tezmen, Tera Portföy General Manager Alper Öztürk, along with Emre Alkin and Kerem Alkin, were taken into custody. Detention orders were subsequently issued for Doğa Sigorta Board Chairman Nihat Kırmızı, as well as Tera Yatırım executives Bülent Uygun and Abdulkadir Özkan.

The Chief Public Prosecutor's Office also expanded the scope of the financial review. It requested the Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK) to examine money and crypto asset transfers and other account activities conducted since 2024 by executives of Pusula Finans Holding, Tera Yatırım Menkul Değerler, Hedef Holding, and Bulls Yatırım Menkul Değerler, as well as their subsidiaries. Financial movements of the executives' first-degree relatives were also included in the examination.

On Sep 21, a new operation was launched regarding transactions in Katılımevim shares. Judicial proceedings were initiated against 25 people, and 15 individuals were taken into custody.

Additionally, financial and asset movements of executives and officials linked to nine companies, including those in the Pusula, Tera, Hedef, and Bulls groups, were frozen. The investigation remains ongoing. (HA/VK)

DNA samples from Zehra Kısaoğlu and Süheyla Kaya matched samples provided by their families following examinations by the Forensic Medicine Institute (ATK), Mezopotamya Agency (MA) reported. The families were informed about the development on Sep 17.

Exhumed from PKK militants' cemetery

The two women had been buried at the Garzan Cemetery in the Kurdish-populated province of Bitlis alongside PKK members and Syrian Kurdish fighters. However, authorities in Dec 2017 authorities exhumed 282 bodies from the cemetery, without notifying their families.

Bodies of Kısaoğlu and Kaya were transferred to a cemetery of the unclaimed in Kilyos in İstanbul's Sarıyer district, located along the edges of a road and sidewalk. 

It later emerged that the remains had been placed in plastic containers and buried on top of one another in an area of about 50 square meters.

A search for years

Their families today went to Kilyos Cemetery to collect the remains after completing procedures at the Directorate of Cemeteries in Zincirlikuyu. They will bring the remains of their relatives to their hometown of Bingöl.

Abdullah Kısaoğlu told MA that the family had searched for her sister for years.

“My sister left after finishing high school. Every year the police would come to our house and raid it, searching our belongings," he said. "Wherever there was a mass grave, we went and gave samples over and over again. We finally learned four days ago that she was here."

The families of Kısaoğlu and Kaya had applied to the Human Rights Association (İHD) in 2010 in the hope of finding their remains in a mass grave in Bitlis, where they were killed in the conflict. 

Identifications ECtHR application

After the 2017 exhumation, the Association of Lawyers for Freedom (ÖHD) filed a criminal complaint, arguing that the remains had not been buried in accordance with proper procedures. After permission for an investigation was denied, the case was taken to the Constitutional Court.

The court found the applications inadmissible, after which lawyers applied to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in 2022.

Some of the remains buried at Kilyos have since been identified through DNA testing, exhumed and returned to their families. (HA/VK)

The blocked accounts include those of the Sexual Education, Treatment and Research Association (CETAD), which provides support to people living with HIV, and the Psychiatric Association of Turkey (TPD). While the account of the TPD is still accessible on X, CETAD's account has been witheld on the platform.

Authorities have blocked more than 400 websites and social media accounts, including those belonging to LGBTI+ rights groups and activists. More than 100 people, including rights defenders, were detained in raids across 15 cities on Sep 13, with most later remanded in custody.

"Obscenity" law is at the center of the accusations against rights groups as part of the operations dubbed as My Family Is Safe."

How Turkey’s vague obscenity law is becoming a tool to criminalize LGBTI+ visibility

18 September 2026

The TTB said restrictions on organizations working on HIV could affect access to testing, treatment, counseling and reliable health information:

"The situation is particularly serious with regards to HIV. Stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV are among the most significant social barriers to HIV prevention, testing, early diagnosis, starting treatment, and continuing treatment.

"For this reason, civil society organizations working in the field of HIV do more than just advocate for rights; they provide accurate, up-to-date, and scientifically sound information to hard-to-reach segments of society, refer people to free HIV testing and counseling services, facilitate safe access to the healthcare system, and provide support in the face of discrimination and human rights violations.

The association asserted that the restrictions conflicted with the Health Ministry's Turkey HIV/AIDS control program for 2025-2030, which includes equal access to diagnosis, treatment, care and support, reducing stigma and discrimination, and reaching marginalized groups among its goals.

"We know that public health is only possible through science, rights, democracy, an environment of trust, combating stigma and community participation," said the TTB statement.

It called for an end to pressure and access restrictions targeting LGBTI+ rights groups and organizations working on HIV.

Health Ministry cites ‘family values’ for hormone therapy access restrictions

11 September 2026

Public access to scientific knowledge

The Psychiatric Association of Turkey also condemned the access restrictions in a Sep 18 statement, asserting that such practices hinder public access to scientific knowledge:

"Our work on sexuality and sexual issues includes sexuality education, informing the public about sexuality, the scientific diagnosis and treatment of sexual dysfunction, and the protection of the mental health of individuals with different sexual orientations—just as it is for all citizens.

"It is a well-established fact in modern medical science that sexual orientation is not a disease, and it is understood that it is not a condition that can be “changed” or “cured” through methods such as education, persuasion, or encouragement.

"Such restrictions not only limit the ability of professional organizations but also that of physicians to share scientific knowledge and convey accurate health information to the public; by causing individuals to hesitate in accessing health services, they pose a risk to public health.

"Indeed, during the same period, associations advocating for the rights and access to healthcare of people living with HIV have also been similarly targeted.

(VK)

The discovery of gold in the Witwatersrand area near Johannesburg in 1886 and the transformation of Johannesburg into a major city within a decade led to a period of political polarization and division.

Alongside these developments, interregional disputes were resolved in 1910 and the Union of South Africa was established. This period marked the white minority gaining the power to control the flow of Black people into cities and confine them to specific residential areas outside urban centers.

On the other hand, a law passed in 1911 mandated that skilled positions be reserved for white people. The Land Act of 1913 is recognized as the legislation that first institutionalized racial segregation by designating specific living areas for Black people. This act defined the rural areas, or "reserves," where Black people were permitted to live. Furthermore, the act forbade Black people from farming independently or as tenant farmers, leaving them to work as wage laborers on white-owned farms.

While this legislation led to organized responses from Black people, white mine workers went on a general strike as they were losing their jobs to cheap Black labor. This strike led to a change in government and the formation of a hardline racist administration. A law enacted in 1923 empowered local authorities to designate specific zones for Black residence within cities. Another law regulated the employment of Black people in unskilled jobs at minimum wage.

The 1930s witnessed the rise of white nationalism among the "Afrikaners," predominantly people of Dutch descent who were the earliest white settlers in South Africa. These nationalist, racist whites viewed themselves both as the rightful owners of the country and as a unique people chosen by God, aiming to establish a well-structured "apartheid" system.

By the 1940s, a significant number of Black people, particularly women, were migrating not just as temporary workers but as permanent urban residents. In 1946, it was recorded for the first time that the Black population in cities outnumbered the white population. Coupled with economic difficulties, the growing number of Black people in urban areas led white populations to view them as an increasingly dangerous mass threatening their social gains.

The 1948 elections were won by the National Party, whose campaign was designed to meet the expectations of racist whites by introducing a regime for Black people called "apartheid."

Upon coming to power, the National Party began passing legislation designed to integrate racial segregation into every aspect of political, economic, and social life, keeping the movements and economic activities of Black people under strict control.

Citing a few of these laws provides insight into the implementation of apartheid. Acts No. 55 and 21, enacted in 1949, prohibited marriages and cohabitation between Black and white individuals. Some couples who were married or living together were forced to leave the country.

In addition to these laws, the population was registered according to racial classifications, and each racial group was compelled to live in specific areas. A law enacted in 1950 designated specific residential zones for Black and white people in urban areas. Thousands of Black people were forcibly moved from areas designated for whites, suffering significant social hardship and loss of property.

A new law passed in 1952 updated previous legislation regarding identification documents, making it mandatory for all Black men to carry these documents, a requirement extended to women in 1956.

In the course of these developments, the racist administration realized the potential of education as a crucial tool for strengthening the apartheid system. The Bantu Education Act of 1953 introduced mandatory regulations based on racial segregation within educational institutions. Dr. H.F. Verwoerd, the minister of education who later served as prime minister from 1958 to 1966 and is known as the architect of apartheid, advocated the view that education for Black children should teach them that they could never be equal to Europeans and could not reach a certain level of occupational capacity. In his view, there was no need to teach mathematics to a Black child, as they would have no opportunity to use it. Consequently, the budget allocated for the education of Black people was far smaller than that allocated for whites.

The Reservation of Separate Amenities Act of 1953 mandated the segregation and separate use of facilities and amenities in public spaces, such as post offices, buses, parking areas, and restrooms, based on race. Thus, the racist nature of the regime became visible in everyday life as well.

Between 1960 and 1994, forced displacement was recorded as one of the most painful and inhumane practices of the racist regime. Approximately 3.5 million Black people were removed from their homes and forced to live in newly established areas that lacked basic economic and social infrastructure. These movements also caused the deaths of many Black people due to starvation.

In the 1950s, nonviolent, broad-based protest campaigns and acts of civil disobedience against the racist regime began appearing in public spaces, mostly organized under the leadership of the South African Communist Party.

Meanwhile, the African National Congress (ANC) managed to gain broad support following the establishment of its Youth League in 1944 under the leadership of Anton Lembede, Nelson Mandela, Oliver Tambo, and Walter Sisulu. The Youth League developed a program including mass protests, boycotts, and passive resistance. However, this program had to wait until 1949 to be implemented.

As part of the civil disobedience campaign led by the ANC, large numbers of Black people entered white areas and parks, refused to carry their identity cards, and engaged in other acts of resistance. More than 8,000 Black people were arrested. These protests greatly increased the ANC's popularity, pushing its membership to 100,000. However, the response from the government was harsh, imposing many prison sentences and heavy fines.

In the 1950s, the government passed several laws to keep Black people under strict control. First, it banned the Communist Party by law, and the Public Safety Act of 1953 empowered the government to declare a state of emergency if needed.

The Freedom Charter

In the 1950s, leading organizations fighting against the racist regime joined together to form an alliance. This alliance was composed of the African National Congress (ANC), the South African Indian Congress, the Congress of Democrats (an organization of white anti-racists), the South African Coloured People's Organisation, and various trade unions.

Through nationwide efforts and several meetings, the alliance identified the public's demands and adopted the "Freedom Charter" in 1955, which listed the basic principles for the equality of Black people in the political and social spheres. These listed principles were designed to serve as the foundation for the constitution to be drafted in a future era of freedom.

The Sharpeville Massacre

On Mar 21, 1960, the Pan Africanist Congress organized a nonviolent march to protest identity cards. The goal was to march to the local police station, return their identity cards, and be arrested. A large crowd gathered outside the police station in Sharpeville; however, police opened fire, killing 69 Black people and injuring 180 others.

The Sharpeville Massacre marked a turning point in the struggle of Black people, drawing profound responses from local and international circles and sparking a rising wave of hatred against the racist regime.

With Resolution 134, passed on Apr 1, 1960, the United Nations condemned apartheid, declaring it a crime against humanity and calling upon the government to abandon its racist policies.

Start of armed struggle

Following increased Black demonstrations, the government declared a state of emergency and banned the ANC and the PAC. Upon these declarations, leaders of the ANC and the PAC decided that the time had come to launch an armed resistance.

Between 1961 and 1963, approximately 200 acts of sabotage were carried out in South Africa, mostly by the armed wing of the ANC. In 1963, after a police raid, the entire leadership cadre, including Mandela and his comrades, was captured, tried on charges of training for guerrilla warfare and sabotage, and sentenced to life imprisonment.

Mandela concluded his four-hour defense with these historic words: “I have dedicated my life to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”

With Resolution 1881, dated Oct 11, 1963, the UN called on the South African government to unconditionally release Mandela and his comrades. However, the government disregarded UN resolutions despite calls for an arms embargo and exclusion from international organizations.

The 1970s – Youth Resistance – Steve Biko

By the 1970s, youth resistance had come to the forefront of the struggle. A student organization known as the "Black Consciousness Movement" was founded by Steve Biko in 1969. Biko wanted Black people to free themselves from perceiving themselves as inferior to whites. According to Biko, the education Black people received reinforced this sense of inferiority.

Over time, Biko emerged as a prominent leader whose protests and actions gained increasing national attention. The government viewed Biko as a dangerous activist, and in 1976 he was held in detention for several months without a court order. He was arrested again in 1977, thrown naked into a cell, and tortured to death within 18 days.

The Soweto Uprising of June 16, 1976

In 1975, a government directive mandated that Black students be taught in Afrikaans, triggering a student uprising. Students viewed education in Afrikaans as a racist and oppressive attempt to assert dominance and control over Black people.

After various attempts to overturn the instruction and small-scale protests, a massive protest march was launched on Jun 16, 1976, in Soweto, involving around 20,000 students. During the protest, police fired at the crowd, killing 13-year-old Hector Pieterson. This incident triggered violent resistance across the nation. Although the Soweto uprising was suppressed by the police, it marked a turning point in the struggle against racism, generating a renewed spirit of resistance among Black people nationwide.

From Apartheid to democracy

After the Soweto uprising, domestic resistance movements intensified, political pressure from the international community increased, and these developments seriously impacted the economy. The South African government found itself in political difficulties amid an increasing economic crisis, unable to cope with strikes and social unrest.

These events led to the unification of around 500 anti-apartheid political organizations active in the country under the name United Democratic Front (UDF), including trade unions, women's organizations, churches, and youth and student groups representing all races in South Africa.

However, faced with such broad-based opposition, the government once again resorted to harsh measures, banning anti-apartheid organizations and detaining their leaders. Many individuals were held in prison for extended periods without trial, subjected to torture, driven to suicide, or killed.

Throughout the 1980s, resistance movements against the government and its racist policies continued. On Sep 3, 1983, a new parliament was inaugurated, coinciding with a major uprising south of Johannesburg. In his 1985 New Year's address, ANC leader Oliver Tambo urged the people to make the country ungovernable.

The government’s response to this resistance was brutal, declaring a state of emergency across the country. The police were granted sweeping powers, and the army occupied settlements inhabited by Black people. The state’s employment of the police and army fueled public outrage and widespread unrest. By 1986, it was recorded that between 16,000 and 20,000 people had been imprisoned, and thousands had been killed by police or military forces.

The role of the churches

As they deemed the practices of the racist regime contrary to Christian principles and moral values, many churches supported resistance movements and became the voice of Black people. Desmond Tutu, a leading figure in this struggle, made a significant contribution as a globally recognized peace ambassador. Although harsh action against the church was unexpected, authorities imprisoned, dismissed, or imposed bans on certain clergy members serving in various church organizations.

International pressure

An economic embargo called for in the 1960s by the UN became effective in the 1970s as more countries joined. In the 1980s, boycotts expanded to cover sports, cultural activities, and academia. The most significant pressure came from the US, which imposed economic and financial sanctions in 1986. Due to the embargo, South Africa’s economy was severely shaken, and the National Party had to consider negotiating with the ANC. By the end of the 1980s, the government lacked the power to crush or eliminate resistance forces.

In 1989, F.W. de Klerk became leader of the National Party and president of South Africa. He faced immense pressure from domestic and international circles to make radical changes. This period also witnessed significant global transformation as the Soviet-led socialist bloc entered a process of disintegration. De Klerk decided to take radical steps, and on Feb 2, 1990, he lifted bans on political parties and organizations that had been outlawed due to their opposition to apartheid. Consequently, the ANC, the PAC, and the South African Communist Party were legalized, political prisoners were released, and exiles were permitted to return to the country. On Feb 11, 1990, Nelson Mandela was released after 27 years of imprisonment. Negotiations finally began with the ANC and other political parties, and the laws establishing the apartheid system were repealed.

A striking and tragic aspect of this period—during which new regulations were being enacted and negotiations were underway—was the continuation of violent clashes between Black citizens and government forces. Approximately 14,300 people lost their lives between 1990 and 1994.

In December 1991, an agreement was reached for an interim government to take charge until a new constitution could be drafted. Although negotiations faced various challenges and were occasionally interrupted, a consensus on the interim constitution was finally reached in November 1993. The first democratic elections were held on Apr 27, 1994. The ANC won the majority of the votes and formed a Government of National Unity, with Nelson Mandela as the first democratically elected president. F.W. de Klerk and Thabo Mbeki served as his deputies. (NT/VK)

References

K. Henrard, Post-Apartheid SA’s Democratic Transformation Process: Redress of the Past, Reconciliation and “Unity in Diversity” http://www.ethnopolitics.org/ethnopolitics/archive/volume_I/issue_3/henrard.pdf

Report of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission Volume 1 Chapter 1, 22

Alex Boraine, Hakikat ve Uzlaşma Komisyonu, Aram Yay. Ist, 2005, Çev: Aylin Kürkçü, Sh 80-81

Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa http://www.trial-ch.org/en/resources/trut-commissions/africa/south-africa.html

Legal Information Institute http://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/south_african_truth_commission

http://www.khulumani.net/reparations/government/item/735-conference-report 4-6-Dec.2012/735

Varushka Jardine, The Truth and Reconciliation Commission : success and failure? upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/.../dissertation.pdf

http://www.ccr.uct.ac.za/archive/two/6_34/p24_winslow.html

James L. Gibson, “Truth, Justice, and Reconciliation” Washington University in St. Louis jameslgibson.wustl.edu/ajps2002.pdf

Survivors' Perceptions of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission http://www.csvr.org.za/papers/papkhul.htm

After Truth: The Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Media and Race Relations in Post-Apartheid South Africa http://digitalcommons.conncoll.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?

http://www.justice.gov.za/trc/report/finalreport/vol6.pdf

Other Turkish wines were lush, concentrated with grapes new to me, some only reachable on special offers days, but when they were we would sip them in deep wine glasses feeling like sultans or kings.  

It was off course a dying breed; the increasing cost (4 times higher than back home) had taken it away from the hands of most.

 Builders came into the store once and left with nothing, an old man beamed with happiness when we chose the best cheapest white wine for him, it was his treat. One Christmas two old men, clearly old friends, bought a bottle of whisky between them, their eyes beamed. And then it was gone, the shops stopped and enjoyment was swept aside; intolerance cleared the shelves leaving only energy drinks and fizzy water. I hadn’t even had time to get the special beer from my town, which I always have with my Christmas dinner, “Brown Ale.” The last supermarket is far far away and I’m sure it too will fall away and the vines will rot and only old men will recount rakı nights or any nights at all.

I will miss them, the diligent student who weighed up each bottle like an exam. The old guy and his treat, the guys planning a rakı night like a military manoeuvre. The housewife grabbing something to relax into the weekends. But most of all I will miss me; holding looking talking down the aisles, and enjoying the night because I won’t be going back there EVER.  

Ekrem Eray Arda announced his resignation during a council meeting yesterday. Describing himself as “a representative of an understanding firmly committed to the republic and shaped by a statist and nationalist tradition,” he criticized the opposition’s record on issues ranging from urban transformation to foreign policy and the “fight against terrorism.”

The resignation has heightened opposition concerns that changes in council membership could shift control of municipalities to the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).

How Üsküdar changed hands

Those concerns emerged after the conservative İstanbul district of Üsküdar changed hands on Sep 8 following a shift in the balance of its municipal council. Some opposition council members had been detained, while others resigned from the CHP and joined the AKP, causing the opposition to lose majority.

Sinem Dedetaş, who was elected Üsküdar mayor for the CHP in the 2024 local elections, had been detained in July as part of a corruption investigation, prompting the municipal council to elect an acting mayor.

Dedetaş's detention was part of a widespread crackdown that has targeted opposition-controlled municipalities since March last year. More than 35 mayors, including those of major cities such as İstanbul, Antalya, Adana and Bursa, were detained in corruption investigations.

Thirty-one opposition mayors removed from office since 2024 elections

2 April 2026

CHP candidate Sibel Tan Çetinkaya won an Aug 5 vote for acting mayor by 22 votes to 18. The election was later annulled following an AKP objection.

During the rerun process, some municipal council members were detained and others switched parties, after which the acting mayoralty passed to the AKP.

Officials from the New (Yeni) Party, a splinter group from the CHP, alleged that the change was achieved through pressure, threats and party transfers and filed a criminal complaint over the claims. Ayhan Aydın, one of the council members who joined the AKP, denied allegations that he had been subjected to pressure.

Gökhan Günaydın, deputy chair of the New Party's parliamentary group pointed to the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality Council after the loss of Üsküdar, saying his party still held a significant numerical advantage there but alleging that the AKP was seeking to narrow it “through transfers and arrests.”

New Party leader Özgür Özel also described the developments in Üsküdar in terms of alleged “blackmail, pressure and threats,” arguing that there was an effort to alter his party’s majorities in municipal councils.

Despite the detentions, the opposition retained control of most of those municipalities because acting mayors are selected through votes in municipal councils when elected mayors are removed from office and opposition parties held majorities in many of those councils. Some mayors resigned from the CHP and joined the AKP though.

A brief history of politician transfers in Turkey

19 September 2025

Developments in Üsküdar showed that even through mayors don't change sides, the ruling party can take over municipalities after council majorities change through through detentions and defections of council members.

The New Party was established after a court annulled the CHP’s 2023 congress, at which Özel had been elected party leader, over allegations of vote-buying irregularities and reinstated former leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu.

Of the CHP’s 135 lawmakers, 91 joined the New Party under Özel’s leadership, along with more than 230 CHP mayors. Municipal council members, however, remained formally affiliated with the CHP while acting together with the New Party.

Turkey’s main opposition party officially splits as Özel declares New Party

24 July 2026

(AEK/VK)

In a message published by Kaos GL, Berghan said they viewed the imprisonment as part of the struggle for LGBTI+ rights:

I see this process as part of the struggle for gender freedom. I know this won’t be the first or the last price I pay for this struggle. Like the others, I bear this price as a badge of honor.

I send my güllüm* to all my friends with whom I’ve struggled together. They can’t take away our joy!

Kaos GL, an LGBTI+ advocacy group active since 1994, was among the organizations targeted in operations that began on Sep 13. Members of its executive and supervisory boards were arrested on obscenity charges.

News articles and other material published on the association’s website were cited as evidence for the charges.

From ‘public morality’ to ‘My Family Is Safe’: 20 years of repression against Kaos GL

18 September 2026

More than 100 people were detained in the operations, including over 40 rights advocates, on allegations including "obscenity" and prostitution-related offenses. More than 80 were formally arrested.

LGBTI+ organizations in Turkey have faced increasing pressure, particularly since the government declared 2025 the “Year of the Family.” The latest operations have involved an unprecedented number of detentions and arrests.

*In slang used within Turkey's queer community, known as Lubunca, güllüm or gullüm means having a laugh, joking around and generally having a fun, lively time together.

(NÖ/VK)

The High Court ruled that the freedoms of expression and the press of Hasan Cemal, Tuğçe Tatari, Rojvin Perişan, and Yavuz Ekinci—who were subjected to censorship on charges of inciting the public to hatred and hostility and propagating a terrorist organization—as well as the publications Aram, Gelenek, İmera, Payiz, Avesta, and the political parties CHP and HDP, had been violated.

One of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) precedents cited by the Constitutional Court in its ruling is particularly noteworthy today: Kaos GL/Turkey.

This is because, nearly 10 years after the ECtHR’s Nov 22, 2016, ruling regarding the seizure of Kaos GL’s magazine, the organization once again finds itself at the center of a vague investigation—this time on grounds of “obscenity.” Moreover, it is not just Kaos GL; all LGBTI+ individuals, activists, human rights defenders, civil society, and those protesting the events are targets of judicial and police harassment.

At least 81 people have been arrested so far in operations across Turkey. Seven of them are members of Kaos GL’s executive or supervisory board. One is a journalist who reported on Kaos GL.

The charges include “obscenity” as defined in Article 226 of the Turkish Penal Code and violations of the Associations Law. The prosecution alleges that the association’s social media posts are of a nature that “violates general moral standards” and “may offend the public’s sense of decency and modesty.”

Magazine issue seized in 2006

These allegations are not new. Kaos GL has long been battling judicial and police pressure. The story behind the ECtHR ruling cited by the Constitutional Court also dates back to 2006.

At that time, the 28th issue of Kaos GL’s magazine—which contained a special section titled “The Visuality of Sexuality, the Sexuality of Visuality: Pornography”—was seized by the Ankara Public Prosecutor’s Office for review before it could be published.

The Ankara Penal Court of First Instance ruled that certain articles and images in the issue were “contrary to the principle of protecting public morality” and ordered the seizure of all copies of the magazine. A total of 375 copies were confiscated.

During the same process, a case was filed against Umut Güner, President of the Kaos GL Association and the magazine’s editor-in-chief, under Article 226 of the Turkish Penal Code, which remains in effect today. The prosecutor’s office alleged that an image in the magazine was “obscene and pornographic.”

Güner stood trial and was acquitted in February 2007. The court also ruled that the seized issues must be returned once the decision became final. The acquittal was not upheld by the Court of Cassation until February 2012.

Kaos GL, meanwhile, filed a complaint with the ECtHR over the fact that all issues of the magazine had been held for years. The ruling was issued 10 years ago.

ECtHR: Which content, and why, was contrary to 'public morality'?

The strongest link between the ECtHR’s 2016 ruling and today’s debate lies in its assessment of how the “public morality” justification was applied.

The Strasbourg Court first examined the reasoning of the lower courts.

It found that the seizure order did not specify which article or image in the magazine was harmful to public morality. It noted that there was no evidence that the court that issued the initial ruling had examined the magazine’s content in detail, nor did the court that rejected the appeal provide any details or justification regarding this matter.

According to the ECtHR, in this case, the general and unsubstantiated invocation of the “protection of public morals” was insufficient to justify the seizure of all issues of the magazine for a period exceeding five years.

In its decision published today, the Constitutional Court of Turkey summarized the Kaos GL v. Turkey ruling precisely on this point.

Magazine seizure 'not proportionate'

The ECtHR did not consider restricting children’s access to sexual content to be inherently unlawful.

The Court acknowledged that the magazine contained some images with explicit sexual content and noted that measures to prevent minors from accessing them could respond to a “compelling social need.”

However, the review did not end there. The Court questioned why it was necessary to block the entire public’s access to the publication in order to protect children.

It pointed out that the authorities had not attempted less restrictive measures instead of seizing all copies. Banning the sale of the magazine to those under 18, requiring it to be sold in special packaging with a warning, or restricting its sale to newsstands were among the alternatives listed by the ECtHR.

Ultimately, the Court did not find the 5-year, 7-month ban on the magazine’s publication to be proportionate to the intended purpose.

The ECtHR unanimously ruled that Turkey had violated Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which guarantees Kaos GL’s freedom of expression.

From magazine seizure to arrests

Nearly 10 years have passed.

This time, Kaos GL is under investigation on the same charges—not because of a single issue of a print magazine, but due to content published on its website and social media accounts.

Police raided the association’s headquarters and arrested its members and leaders. They even imprisoned those who reported on Kaos GL.

The police are raiding the association’s headquarters and arresting its members and executives. They are even imprisoning those who report on Kaos GL.

The measures taken against Kaos GL leaders directly infringe on personal freedom.

In 2006, it was the freedom of a magazine that was at stake; today, people’s freedoms are being restricted using the same arguments.

Being LGBTI+ is not a crime. Organizing for LGBTI+ rights, publishing on this issue, or making same-sex relationships visible is also not a crime. Moreover, Kaos GL is an association that continues its activities within the legal framework.

Nevertheless, the fundamental question underlying this story, which stretches from 2006 to the present, remains the same: Is the charge based on a specific act, or is it the very existence and visibility of LGBTI+ people? (HA/VK)

Kürşad Zorlu, a deputy chair of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), described the transfer as a state effort to address Gedik’s place in Turkey’s political history.

“This is not merely the transfer of a grave. This step is the completion by the state, 66 years later, of an unfinished page of history,” Zorlu said. “Namık Gedik served in important roles in our country’s political life as an Aydın lawmaker and interior minister during the Democratic Party era.”

Gedik was serving as interior minister when the military seized power on May 27, 1960. After learning of the coup, he urged President Celal Bayar and Prime Minister Adnan Menderes to leave Ankara. Menderes left the capital, while Bayar remained.

Gedik was detained by soldiers after the coup and taken to the Military Academy. Authorities announced that he died by suicide after jumping from a window of the building where he was being held.

Menderes was executed by hanging following the trials held after the coup. Erdoğan has long embraced Menderes’s political legacy and sought to honor both the former prime minister and the Democratic Party government that was ousted in the coup.

Gedik's death

There were also claims that Gedik took his life after being unable to endure torture. In a letter to his wife written in the old Turkish script, he said he had entered “a road of no return.” His family confirmed the letter was authentic, and his son Arda Gedik said he believed his father had died by suicide. Accounts of Gedik’s death have differed over the years.

Gedik was initially buried at Karşıyaka Cemetery in what was described as a “secret and unmarked” location. His remains were later transferred to Cebeci Asri Cemetery following efforts by his family.

Gedik had also been interior minister during the İstanbul pogrom of Sep 6-7, 1955, which primarily targeted the city’s Greek population and also affected Armenian and Jewish communities. Thousands of homes, businesses, schools and churches were looted, vandalized or burned.

Gedik resigned on Sep 10 amid criticism following the violence. He returned to the Interior Ministry on Oct 12, 1956, and remained in office until the coup.

September 6-7 Through Kalumenos’s Lens: Both Your Belongings and Your Life

6 September 2016

Hikmet Bil, the head of the Cyprus is Turkish Association, which played an active role in the pogrom, later wrote about the events in his book “The Cyprus Issue and Its Inside Story.” Bil, who also testified during the Yassıada trials, named Bayar, Menderes and Gedik as the senior figures behind the organization of the events.

During an investigation after the pogrom, İstanbul Governor Fahrettin Kerim Gökay said he had informed Gedik that demonstrations related to the Cyprus issue were expected in İstanbul. Gedik was subsequently questioned as part of the investigation. (Mİ/VK)

Turkey’s LGBTI+ community once enjoyed relative freedom with crowded pride marches held on Taksim's İstiklal Avenue from the late 2000s until 2014. Although the law has not significantly changed, its implementation certainly has. 

While being queer is not illegal under Turkish law, long-existing obscenity laws have been recently used to redefine LGBTI+ bodies, relationships and even visibility as “obscene,” and thus illegal, lawyer Serhat Alan told bianet.

For example, intimate imagery of a straight couple might be deemed casual or romantic while the same pose featuring a gay or lesbian couple could be deemed “obscene.” In practice, the legal system determines which expressions of sexuality are “normal” for society, Alan said. 

He explained that the core issue is that what constitutes “obscenity” is not clearly defined in law. The legal text does not specifically reference LGBTI+s, but this has not stopped it from producing discriminatory outcomes.  

“When dealing with ill-defined concepts like ‘obscenity’ or ‘general morality,’ the decisive factor becomes who interprets these concepts and through which social norms they are applied,” Alan added.  

Obscenity charges are regulated under Article 266 of the Turkish Penal Code, but the criminalizing of obscenity has deeper roots, dating back to the 1926 Turkish Penal Code. 

Alan said that obscenity historically referred to pornographic content and the protection of children from sexual material. Nowadays, however, obscenity investigations also target social media posts, works of art, LGBTI+ organizations and content regarding individuals’ own bodies. 

Artists, social media content creators and LGBTI+ organizations have faced investigations as a result of this expanded application of obscenity. Earlier this month, a court arrested transgender actor Meli Bendeli on obscenity charges over photos she shared on social media. Queer singer Mabel Matiz has also faced multiple investigations over lyrics and music videos, and so has the pop group Manifest over an 18+ concert. 

“The most significant shift in recent years is that obscenity provisions have become part of a broader monitoring of morality and visibility,” Alan said. 

Turkey expands ‘obscenity’ investigations to musicians as 'girl band' given travel ban

10 September 2025

A sharp escalation of pressure on LGBTI+s

Zeynep Kıyak, an activist from the Pembe Hayat Association, said that pressure against the LGBTI+ community has escalated in recent years, but this weekend was something else entirely. She never expected dozens of her friends to be taken from their homes in coordinated midnight raids or association offices to be broken into via locksmiths. 

“These laws are no longer being used only against particular publications or individuals; they are now being used to disrupt the existence and functioning of LGBTI+ civil society and existence as a whole,” she said. “We see this not as neutral law enforcement, but as part of a political project built around ‘family values,’ ‘morality,’ ‘decade of family’ that seeks to erase and criminalize LGBTI+ existence."

Justice Minister Akın Gürlek confirmed that the initial probe dubbed the “My Family Is Safe” operation is part of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s larger vision of “decade of the family and population.”

The campaign, heavily criticized by women’s and LGBTI+ activists, is dedicated to promoting “family values” and increasing birth rates. 

Health Ministry cites ‘family values’ for hormone therapy access restrictions

11 September 2026

“When an ambiguous concept like ‘morality’ becomes the metric for legal intervention, it allows the dominant norms of society, specifically heteronormative standards in Turkey, to be legally reproduced,” Alan said. 

Although the concept of "obscenity" has long conflicted with freedom of expression, he described its current usage as a chilling expansion of the scope of an existing legal tool. 

“Crucially, opening an investigation into content or blocking an event does not need to culminate in a conviction to have an effect — The intervention itself creates a chilling effect,” said Alan. “When individuals cannot predict what expression will be categorized as a crime, they begin to self-censor.” 

Lawyer says private messages cited as 'obscenity' evidence against detained LGBTI+s

15 September 2026

Decades of advocacy reduced to 'obscenity'

Yıldız Tar, editor-in-chief of the Kaos GL website, has experienced this escalation and censorship first hand. The journalist’s social media account and Kaos GL’s second website were two of 73 accounts and websites restricted by the government prior to the weekend raids.

Kaos GL’s previous website has also been blocked from access in Turkey since Jun 2025.

Tar described the laws as a “loophole” and said that they serve as “a legal weapon with boundaries arbitrarily defined by the state.” 

Founded in 1994, the Kaos GL Association is the longest-standing LGBTI+ rights group in Turkey. During the weekend raids, principal and substitute members of its board of directors and supervisory committees were detained as police broke into the organization’s office using locksmiths in what was an unprecedented crackdown since the group's formation. 

The board members were formally arrested on obscenity charges on Sep 16 after appearing before a judge. 

The court cited evidence consisted of news articles and visuals from the website, including a photo of two women characters in the television show “Agatha All Along” kissing and a visual of two male footballers kissing. 

“[The obscenity law] functions as a tool to censor us, shut down our spaces, and legally harass activists under the guise of protecting public morals, ultimately serving the exact same function as outright criminalization,” Tar said. 

Journalist Tuğba Tekerek detained over interview with Georgian LGBTI+ activist

15 September 2026

Tar noted that the government previously tried to pass more direct legislation targeting the LGBTI+ community, such as the 11th judicial package, which proposed up to three years in prison for actions "contrary to biological sex or public morality."

However, upon failing to do so due to strong backlash from Turkish civil society, the state is resorting to such “loopholes.” 

Anti-LGBTI+ amendments removed from draft judicial package

17 June 2026

Tar also believes the recent escalation in anti-LGBTI+ attacks is linked to Turkey’s deepening political and economic crises, especially high inflation and poverty rates. 

“To distract the public from these systemic failures—as well as unaddressed issues like occupational fatalities and unchecked femicides—the government desperately needs a scapegoat,” said Tar. “Targeting the LGBTI+ community allows them to manufacture a new enemy.” 

A broader threat 

Alan said that protecting children and LGBTI+ visibility should not be framed as mutually exclusive. Protecting children from actual sexual and harmful content should not become a pretext for erasing the existence, relationships or expressions of adult LGBTI+ individuals from the public sphere. 

Alan also believes that to actually protect children from pornographic materials and prohibit non-consensual or violent sexual content, this should be separated from vague concepts like “obscenity.” 

“By doing so, we can protect those who genuinely require protection while narrowing the scope wherein the state dictates which sexuality is ‘normal’ and which is ‘contrary to morality,’” he said. 

Popular LGBTI+ Sixties pub shut down in Ankara

24 August 2026

Arrests have only increased since the initial operation. Over 80 more were formally arrested following the initial Sep 13 operations. A Justice Ministry circular sent to prosecutors across the country ordering action against "desexualization" indicates further operations could follow.

Kıyak stressed that the recent attacks on the LGBTI+ community also represent a threat to broader facets of Turkey's civil society. 

“This operation is intended to isolate us, but its implications go far beyond the LGBTI+ community, said Kıyak. “If vague morality laws can be used to raid lawful associations, detain rights defenders, silence public speech and criminalise solidarity, then everyone’s fundamental freedoms are at stake — this cannot be left for the LGBTI+ movement to confront alone.” (İK/VK)

According to the Freedom of Expression Association (İFÖD), the latest accounts subject to blocking orders include journalists İrfan Değirmenci, Şirin Payzın and Fırat Fıstık, as well as soL Haber nws website, the Federation of Turkish Women’s Associations and the Women’s Coalition.

The İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office said the same day that access had been restricted to 419 social media accounts and one link following work coordinated by its Cybercrime Investigation Bureau.

Police raids, online censorship target Turkey’s LGBTI+ community in new crackdown

13 September 2026

The prosecutor’s office said the accounts had been identified as sharing “obscene content” and that the work was carried out to “protect families, children and young people from all forms of abuse.”

The restrictions began on Sep 12 with Kaos GL, Velvele and numerous LGBTI+ organizations, activists and rights defenders. EngelliWeb said the initial decisions included orders issued by the İstanbul 7th Penal Judgeship of Peace and the Mersin 4th Penal Judgeship of Peace.

The restrictions expanded on Sep 13 to another 32 X accounts, including LGBTI+ and gender-related university groups.

On Sep 14, blocking orders covered the accounts of Evrensel newspaper, Amnesty International Turkey, Academics for Peace, the Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA), the Ali İsmail Korkmaz Foundation, HAK Initiative, Lawyers for Justice and UMUT-SEN, as well as journalists Özlem Akarsu Çelik and Fıstık. (AEK/VK)

Separately, 106 people detained on Sep 15 while protesting the crackdown outside the İstanbul Courthouse were released late yesterday. 

Anti-LGBTI+ crackdown: Detention extended for 109 protesters amid ill-treatment allegations

16 September 2026

Twenty people detained in İstanbul were formally arrested late yesterday on "obscenity" charges. At least nine of those jailed are members of LGBTI+ organizations, including Hevi LGBTI+, Pozitif-iz, SPoD and Lambdaistanbul.

In requesting their detention, prosecutors alleged that LGBTI+ associations were “weakening the nature of the Turkish family structure” through their activities. They also claimed the groups raised funds and organized events to “encourage, promote and spread” being LGBTI+.

Journalist Tuğba Tekerek detained over interview with Georgian LGBTI+ activist

15 September 2026

In the southern province of Mersin, 27 of 33 people referred to court after being detained were formally arrested on Sep 15. They face "obscenity" and "prostitution" allegations. 

Two members of the Muamma LGBTI+ Association, including a lawyer, and three members of the Mersin 7 Colors LGBTI+ Solidarity Association were among those jailed. Two other 7 Colors members were released under judicial supervision.

Five people were jailed in Kuşadası, Aydın, on Sep 14 on "prostitution" and "obscenity" charges. Sixteen people were jailed in İzmir the same day, facing similar accusations.

Lawyer says private messages cited as 'obscenity' evidence against detained LGBTI+s

15 September 2026

The initial crackdown targeted 162 people across 15 provinces. Police raided homes, LGBTI+ associations and venues frequented by queer people.

Separately, authorities blocked access to hundreds of social media accounts and websites belonging to LGBTI+ groups and individuals over the past week.

Justice Ministry circular on ‘desexualization’

Following the Sep 13 raids, the Justice Ministry sent a circular to prosecutors in all 81 provinces ordering action against activities it described as “desexualization.”

The circular, titled “Protection of the Family, Young People and Society from Content and Organizations Contrary to Public Morality and with Negative Effects,” instructed prosecutors to assess reports and complaints concerning allegedly obscene activities, secure digital evidence and, when deemed necessary, seek restrictions on access to online content.

'This operation declares that the Turkish state considers LGBTI+s criminals for simply existing'

14 September 2026

The circular ordered prosecutors to take immediate action when there is suspicion of “activities encouraging children and young people toward desexualization.”

Under the circular, organized crime investigation methods may be used if activities under investigation are considered to have been carried out within an organized structure. If there is evidence that income was generated from the activities, a financial investigation is to be conducted alongside the criminal investigation.

The ministry also called for coordination among the Family and Social Services Ministry, National Education Ministry, Presidential Cybersecurity Directorate and law enforcement agencies.

Information on investigations with nationwide implications is to be submitted to the Justice Ministry. 

Anti-LGBTI+ amendments removed from draft judicial package

17 June 2026

'Obscenity' accusations

The offense of “obscenity” under Article 226 of the Turkish Penal Code has become central to the crackdown on LGBTI+ groups. The law prohibits the distribution of obscene material and the exposure of children to such content, but lacks a clear definition of what constitutes obscenity.

Authorities have increasingly used the provision in recent years, initially in cases involving adult content creators. Its use later expanded to non-explicit material, with stage performances, song lyrics and verbal statements also becoming the subject of investigations. More recently, the law has been applied to LGBTI+ advocacy. Groups targeted in the latest crackdown said their members were questioned about images posted on social media showing two men or two women kissing.

Turkey’s LGBTI+ movement has faced increased pressure since 2025, which the government declared the “Year of the Family,” with pro-government media outlets frequently portraying LGBTI+ groups' activities as “anti-family.” Following the latest crackdown, Justice Minister Akın Gürlek said the authorities had acted in line with the government’s “family vision.”

LGBTI+ youth association in İzmir shut down over 'obscenity' claims

12 December 2025

Trans actor Meli Bendeli jailed in ‘obscenity’ probe over social media posts

8 September 2026

(VK)

The İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office launched the investigation, examining more than 300 companies. Police conducted searches at 109 workplaces and homes across 22 provinces.

According to Justice Minister Akın Gürlek, investigators found indications that some major suppliers used their market position to understate the amount of produce available while overstating their costs.

The suspects face allegations including price manipulation, violations of the Tax Procedure Law, document forgery and laundering assets derived from crime.

Farmers' allegations

Also, statements were taken from 1,029 farmers as prosecutors examined the prices at which produce left farms and the conditions under which it was sold to suppliers.

Farmers alleged that supplier companies issued invoices showing higher purchase prices than the amounts actually paid to them. Some also claimed that companies recorded purchases of products they had not produced.

Investigators also found records suggesting that producer receipts may have been issued in the names of deceased people.

Some receipts were allegedly not tied to any actual delivery of produce. 

Turkey has faced high inflation in recent years, including persistently elevated food prices. Annual food inflation stood at 33.79 percent in August, according to official data, placing Turkey fourth globally after Venezuela, Iran and Argentina.

Turkey ranks fourth globally in food inflation

15 May 2026

(HA/VK)

BirGün reporter Sarya Toprak, German ARD TV reporter Şener Azak and lawyers were among the detained. Azak was later released.

The detainees were divided into three groups and taken to police facilities on Vatan Avenue, in Gayrettepe and in Küçükçekmece. Their police statements were completed in the morning, and authorities were awaiting instructions from the prosecutor on whether they would be transferred to the courthouse today.

Lawyer alleges ill-treatment

Lawyer Serhat Alan said the detention process had been carried out through "unlawful practices" from beginning to end:

“In addition to disregarding the procedures stipulated under Law No. 2911, rulings by the Constitutional Court and the ECtHR concerning the right to assembly and demonstration were also ignored.

“More seriously, everyone detained was subjected by law enforcement to various forms of torture and ill-treatment. These practices included keeping people handcuffed behind their backs for hours, insults, physical assault, discriminatory treatment and attempts to force them to undergo medical examinations in the presence of police officers.”

Police raids, online censorship target Turkey’s LGBTI+ community in new crackdown

13 September 2026

Police allegedly pressed detainees to retract torture allegations

Alan said the detainees were transferred to different police facilities because of insufficient capacity:

“From the moment the first detention took place, we as lawyers were monitoring the process both at the scene and at the police station,” he said. “We were prevented from meeting with the detainees for more than 12 hours.”

“The statements were completed at around 7 am today. During the process, police in Gayrettepe attempted to prevent allegations of torture from being included in the statements. Because the detention period had expired and, according to the prosecutor’s office, procedures had not been completed, the detention period was extended by another 24 hours as required by procedure.”

'This operation declares that the Turkish state considers LGBTI+s criminals for simply existing'

14 September 2026

What happened?

The protest followed the Sep 13 operations targeting LGBTI+s dubbed as “My Family Is Safe.”

As part of the operations, police raided the homes of executive and supervisory board members of the Kaos GL Association, including alternate members, and detained them. Officers also searched the association’s office and seized digital materials. Other LGBTI+ associations and bars frequented by queer people were also targeted in he raids.

While Turkey’s LGBTI+ community has faced growing political pressure in recent years, the latest operations are unprecedented in their scale and legal scope. Authorities are investigating LGBTI+s on “obscenity” allegations, an offense whose application has recently expanded beyond sexually explicit material to include non-explicit content and verbal statements. During police questioning, detainees were asked about images they had published, including photographs showing two men or two women kissing.

Justice Minister Akın Gürlek said legal proceedings had been initiated against 162 people, nine associations and 13 businesses as part of the operations. (FY/VK)

The operation was carried out by the Cybersecurity Presidency and the Gendarmerie General Command under the coordination of Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MİT).

An investigation by MİT found that some union software developed by Aydo Yazılım contained a special search interface that enabled access to third-party personal data, according to a report by the state-run Anadolu Agency citing security sources.

Leaked data

Investigators determined that datasets previously leaked online from various sources could be searched through the system. Queries using Turkish national identification numbers provided access to identity and civil registry information.

Authorities also found that databases operating in the background contained a broader range of personal data, including records of people under 18.

Turkey seeks Google's help as 108 million people’s info stolen in massive breach

9 September 2024

The search system was allegedly used to complete membership information when adding people to union databases. Investigators are examining how the larger pool of personal data was used.

Records stored on the company’s servers repeatedly included the abbreviation “NVİ,” apparently an acronym for "population and citizenship affairs," which appeared to suggest that the data originated from the General Directorate of Population and Citizenship Affairs. Technical examinations, however, found that the information had not been obtained directly from the directorate’s systems.

Public contracts

Investigators also found that Aydo Yazılım provided consultancy services to institutions and organizations under Turkey’s Personal Data Protection Law through a service called “Clock&Wise.” The company simultaneously operated union software that enabled searches of personal information, according to the investigation.

Authorities are examining which unions used the search system, the extent of its use and the purposes for which the retrieved data was processed. The investigation may be expanded based on evidence obtained from seized digital materials.

Aydo Yazılım lists several organizations as clients or partners on its website. They include Eğitim Bir-Sen, Diyanet-Sen, Eğitim-Sen, Eğitim-İş, the Health and Social Service Workers Union (SES), Tüm Bel-Sen, Türk Harb-İş and Sağlık-Sen.

The company says it provided services including membership, accounting and document-management systems, mobile applications and personal data protection consultancy to various unions. It also lists the Turkish Armed Forces Education Foundation for a dormitory automation system and the Sadri Alışık Cultural Center for a student tracking system.

Public procurement records show that the company also secured contracts from government institutions.

Trade Registry Gazette records show that Aydo Yazılım was established as a limited company in Ankara by Hakkı Doğan in 2015. A management change took place in 2026, when Doğan transferred all his shares to Harun Doğan on Aug 4. The company’s capital was raised to 2.73 million liras.

The Personal Data Protection Authority signed a contract with Aydo Yazılım for a procurement worth 1.884 million liras in 2024. The company also won another tender from the authority worth about 2.3 million liras in 2025.

Aydo Yazılım also secured a tender worth about 1 million liras in 2024 for software to track transfers of personal data abroad.

The company is additionally involved in a data security project in Germany in partnership with AIFORLIVES GmbH. (Mİ/VK)

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. 

The awards, organized by the Dicle Fırat Journalists Association (DFG), recognized Yılmaz, who worked for bianet between Apr 2022 and Sep 2026, for her article titled “Trans woman teacher Zoe targeted, dismissed from job.”

Published on bianet on Jul 9, 2026, the report documented rights violations faced by teacher Zoe Lila, who was dismissed from her job after undergoing gender-affirming therapy.

İstanbul trans teacher dismissed after hate campaign: 'I knew this might happen one day'

11 July 2026

The jury said the article was selected because it showed “how a systematic process of pressure against LGBTI+s operates and how their living spaces are being restricted.”

A total of 72 submissions were made to this year’s competition. Three works received awards in the Turkish-language news category, while another was given the Jury Special Award.

Awards were also given in Kurdish-language news, video news, cartoon and photography categories.

The Hüseyin Aykol Press Freedom Award, presented for the first time this year, went to the Association for Assistance, Solidarity, Unity and Culture with Families Who Lost Relatives in the Cradle of Civilizations (MEBYA-DER).

The award ceremony will be held on Sep 23 at 7 pm at the ÇandAmed Culture and Congress Center in Diyarbakır’s Yenişehir district. (HA/VK)

Tekerek was detained overnight in İstanbul and taken to the police morality bureau, where she was questioned over an allegation of "obscenity" under Article 226 of the Turkish Penal Code.

Police raids, online censorship target Turkey’s LGBTI+ community in new crackdown

13 September 2026

She was later transferred to Ankara and is being held at Ankara Courthouse, where she is expected to give a statement to prosecutors. The Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA) is providing her legal representation.

The article cited as grounds for Tekerek's detention was published by Kaos GL on Oct 26, 2024, titled, "Being LGBTI+ in Georgia's election: 'I feel both like a hero and like I'm in a dystopia'."

The Kaos GL Association is one of the groups at the center of the investigation. Its board members were taken into custody in Ankara during the Sep 13 raids.

In the article, Tekerek reported on legislation targeting LGBTI+s in Georgia, anti-LGBTI+ rhetoric used during the election campaign and security concerns faced by Tamar Jakeli, head of Tbilisi Pride.

'This operation declares that the Turkish state considers LGBTI+s criminals for simply existing'

14 September 2026

The report also examined the ruling Georgian Dream party's anti-LGBTI+ campaign ahead of the country's general election and legislation titled "Family Values and Protection of Minors."

Jakeli said they had been portrayed during the campaign as one of the symbols of "moral decay" and had taken security precautions because she feared being attacked.

Tekerek's article also reported that LGBTI+ organizations in Georgia were struggling to continue their work amid growing pressure, new legislation and threats of attacks.

Condemnation from union

Following news of her detention, the Journalists' Union of Turkey (TGS) condemned what it described as judicial harassment and called for her immediate release.

"A journalist's job is to report the news," the union said. "We do not accept professional activities being turned into grounds for investigations and detention. Without freedom of the press and expression, there can be no professional security for journalists." (HA/VK)

The indictment accuses journalist Canan Coşkun, documentary filmmaker Kazım Kızıl and Şaban Vatan of "depriving a person of their liberty through force, threats or deception by multiple people acting jointly." Kızıl also faces a charge of "attempting to influence a fair trial."

According to the indictment, the investigation stemmed from an incident involving Mürsel Küçükal, a witness in the investigation into Rabia Naz’s death who had also testified before a parliamentary committee establish to investigate the death.

The journalists were detained in 2019 on similar allegations but were later released.

Prosecutor's office dismisses investigation into 11-year-old Rabia Naz's suspicious death

17 July 2020

On Nov 13, 2019, Küçükal described at the scene how he had found Rabia Naz and reenacted her movements by crawling on the ground.

In his statement to police, Küçükal said he had been taken to the scene by the suspects and asked to demonstrate how Rabia Naz had crawled. He alleged that he was pressured while doing so and was later taken to a room and questioned about his earlier statement.

Prosecutors included in the indictment Küçükal’s claim that he felt pressured and frightened.

Suspicious death of 11-year-old Rabia Naz: Family applies to Constitutional Court

18 September 2020

‘I signaled Şaban to stop’

Coşkun and Kızıl denied the allegations according to their statements included in the indictment.

According to Coşkun’s account, she went alone to Küçükal’s home. While they were speaking, Küçükal suddenly lay on the floor to demonstrate how he had found Rabia Naz. He then volunteered to go to the scene, saying, "Come, I’ll show you there."

Şaban Vatan and Kızıl later arrived at the scene. Küçükal then began crawling on the ground again.

Coşkun said she and Kızıl were uncomfortable with the reenactment. Kızıl stopped filming, and they asked Vatan to stop the reenactment, she said.

Kızıl said Küçükal suddenly lay on his back and began crawling after being asked, "How did you see her?"

Kızıl said he was uncomfortable with what was happening. "I touched Şaban’s arm and signaled with my hand for him not to do it, but he continued," he said.

Both Coşkun and Kızıl said they then left the scene.

SUSPICIOUS DEATH OF CHILD

‘We have been asking for 3 years: What happened to Rabia Naz?’

12 April 2021

The indictment also includes statements attributed to Şaban Vatan about Küçükal: "This is the eyewitness. He changed his statement. He didn’t tell it before because of pressure, and now he is telling it."

Vatan is also quoted as telling Küçükal, "Just so you know, they will finish you. I recorded all the footage of you. They will finish you through the DNA under the fingernail."

Alleged deprivation of liberty

Six years later, prosecutors had the footage recorded by Kızıl and the audio recordings made by Coşkun transcribed and examined. An expert report was added to the case file on Feb 1, and later cited in the indictment.

The Görele Chief Public Proseutor's Office said that, taken together, the recordings and statements from the complainant and witnesses showed that Coşkun, Kızıl and Vatan had acted with a "unity of intent and action," pressured Küçükal and restricted his freedom of movement.

The prosecutor charged all three with "depriving a person of their liberty through force, threats or deception by multiple people acting jointly" and sought prison sentences ranging from four to 14 years.

The prosecutor also sought a sentence for Kızıl on a separate charge of "attempting to influence a fair trial."

The Görele 1st Penal Court of First Instance accepted the indictment. The first hearing is scheduled for Oct 22 at 9.30 am.

The court also ordered that Coşkun and Kızıl give their defense statements to courts in the locations where they are based via videoconference.

No prosecution for four others in same investigation

İlhan Dede, Ömer Kıran, Tuba Demir and Uğur Dede had also been investigated on allegations of "attempting to influence a fair trial" and "depriving a person of their liberty."

The Görele Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office issued a decision of non-prosecution for the four on Apr 6, 2026.

Prosecutors said there were no eyewitnesses or "any camera or audio recording capable of proving" the allegations against them. They said no concrete evidence beyond unsubstantiated statements had been obtained to establish sufficient suspicion for a prosecution.

A lawyer representing those arrested claimed that police obtained their phone passwords without a court order and searched their phones.

Messages and photos found in the phones were added to the investigation file as evidence for "obscenity," lawyer Ahmet Rodi Polat, who also co-chairs the İzmir branch of the Human Rights Association (İHD), told the T24 news site.

'This operation declares that the Turkish state considers LGBTI+s criminals for simply existing'

14 September 2026

Polat further said the investigation was initially based on social media monitoring conducted through the "online patrols," which the Constitutional Court had previously found unlawful. Under the method, police examine individuals’ social media activity without a judicial order.

'LGBTI+s are being criminalized'

The lawyer said the investigation criminalizes LGBTI+s because of their gender identity:

"In the cases we are following in İzmir, we see posts concerning people's private lives were taken out of context in an attempt to use them as grounds for obscenity and prostitution charges.

"Yet the consensual private lives of adults, their sexual orientation, gender identity and visibility on social media are not crimes. Vaguely defined concepts such as ‘public morality’ cannot be turned into tools for eliminating the right to privacy and freedom of expression.

"Combining unrelated accusations in the same investigations leads to LGBTI+s being associated with crime and stigmatized in the eyes of society. The state’s obligation is not to criminalize LGBTI+s, but to protect them from discrimination, hate speech and violence."

Turkey's LGBTI+ crackdown draws condemnation from rights groups, politicians

14 September 2026

Background

The İzmir detentions were part of sweeping raids conducted in 15 cities on Sep 13. Authorities searched the offices of LGBTI+ rights organizations as well as venues such as bars frequented by the queer community.

Detention orders were issued for 162 people, most of whom were taken into custody. Those targeted face allegations involving obscenity, prostitution and drug-related offenses.

The obscenity allegation at the center of the investigation also covers material including statements that do not contain explicit content. (VK)

The İstanbul 23rd Heavy Penal Court ordered Gayıp’s release under judicial supervision, imposing a ban on traveling abroad.

Labor Party (EMEP) Deputy Chair and Gaziantep MP Sevda Karaca and numerous journalists attended the hearing at the İstanbul Courthouse in Çağlayan. The courtroom was full.

Gayıp, who was brought to the hearing from Bakırköy Women’s Prison, presented her defense against the indictment. She said the prosecutor had built the charges against her around her journalistic activities.

'Journalism is like wearing a shirt of fire'

Gayıp began her defense by thanking those who had shown solidarity with her:

"At a time when telephone conversations we have with each other for news coverage and even money spent on tea are being cited as grounds for terrorist organization membership, I thank everyone who has stood in solidarity with me.

"For us revolutionary, socialist and opposition journalists, practicing journalism today is like wearing a shirt of flames."

BIA Media Monitoring Reports

13 December 2024

When the presiding judge asked her to address the accusations in the indictment, Gayıp responded, "I am presenting a defense of journalism. I would ask you not to interrupt me."

Gayıp said she had reported on workers struggling with the cost of living, workplace conditions and villagers fighting to protect their land:

"They tell us, 'Don't report on these things. They tell us to forget the unionists defending resisting workers and report on the yellow unions instead. They tell us to forget the villagers protecting their land.

"I have been in prison for seven and a half months because I reported these stories."

'Arrested without seeing the prosecutor'

She said she had been referred to court without giving a statement and was arrested without appearing before the prosecutor. 

During periodic reviews of her detention, she said she spent months trying to understand what she was accused of.

Gayıp said the indictment reached her about five and a half months after her arrest and addressed statements from witnesses included in the case file.

"The indictment contains statements by confessors, but all they have reported is my journalism," she said.

Addressing an accusation joining the funeral of Saturday Mothers member Emine Ocak, Gayıp said, "I didn't take part in that event, I covered it as a journalist. If I had not been there as a journalist, then yes, I could also have been there as a participant."

Wtiness testimonies

The court also heard testimony from witnesses.

Witness Arda Ata Özdoğan said he knew Gayıp as an ETHA employee. However, he alleged that news published by the agency are "determined" by the Marxist Leninist Communist Party (MLKP) an outlawed armed group.

The allegation that ETHA and some other legal instutions, including the Socialist Party of the Oppressed (ESP), the Lawyers for Fr operate under the MLKP is central to the investigation thta led to the arrest of Gayıp and others.

He alleged that "the news published there is determined by the MLKP" and said he had last seen Gayıp at a 2024 commemoration organized by ESP.

Asked by the presiding judge what Gayıp had been doing there, Özdoğan said, "She was doing journalism and taking photographs."

When the judge asked whether he had seen Gayıp chanting slogans or throwing stones, Özdoğan replied, "No, I didn't."

Court orders release of journalist Müslüm Koyun in 'terror' case

16 July 2026

Another witness, Mustafa Tezel, said he did not know Gayıp. "I am seeing her for the first time in my life," he said.

After the presiding judge read out a previous statement attributed to him, Tezel said, "That statement is not mine."

A confidential witness who testified at the hearing said they remembered Gayıp from between 2015 and 2017.

"She was working as a journalist at ETHA at the time. I would see her at ESP protests and events. She was carrying out journalistic activities," the witness said.

ETHA news agency co-owner Mehmet Acettin detained in house raid

16 June 2026

After the testimonies, Gayıp said, "The witnesses also said that I am a journalist."

Her lawyer, Emine Özhasar, described the media organizations Gayıp had worked for and the stories she had reported, arguing that the witnesses had also confirmed that she was a journalist.

"There is not a single witness who says who she received instructions from within an organization's hierarchy," Özhasar said. "It has not been established which organization's hierarchy she allegedly belonged to, and the accusation itself is not clear."

Prosecutor seeks continued detention

After the testimoines, the prosecutor requested that Gayıp remain in pretrial detention.

The court ordered the release of Gayıp, who had been held for nearly eight months, subject to a travel ban.

The next hearing is scheduled for Dec 7 at 10.15 am. (HA/VK)

Justice Minister Akın Gürlek said legal action had been taken against 162 people, nine associations and 13 businesses. He linked the operations to the “2026-2035 Decade of Family and Population” and Presidential Circular No. 2026/4.

The investigations have involved allegations of “obscenity,” “prostitution,” “forming an organization for the purpose of committing crimes” and drug-related offenses. Funding received by LGBTI+ associations from international donors has also come under scrutiny.

Claims that children were being “steered” regarding sexual orientation and gender identity and that these issues were being “normalized” were also cited as grounds for the investigations.

Yıldız Tar, editor-in-chief of the news outlet of the Kaos GL Association, one of the organizations targeted in the operations, said the operations criminalized the very existence of LGBTI+s.

"This operation is clearly a declaration that the state considers LGBTI+s criminals simply for existing. There is no crime here, and since there is no crime, there are no criminals either. Being LGBTI+ is something we are born with, and you are being persecuted simply because of a characteristic you were born with. That is all this is about."

'Obscenity' accusations

Tar also rejected the allegation of “obscenity” in the investigations:

“They say ‘obscenity.’ What are the things they call obscene? Photos of LGBTI+s, their writings, news about them, two men kissing, two women kissing. Is that obscenity? How can that be obscene?

"What they are really saying here is, ‘When I hear LGBTI+, I think they are obscene.’ That is not the problem of LGBTI+s. It is the problem of a mindset that sees the existence of LGBTI+s as obscene.”

Trans actor Meli Bendeli jailed in ‘obscenity’ probe over social media posts

8 September 2026

Foreign funding

Tar objected in particular to the way funding received by LGBTI+ organizations from abroad was presented as grounds for suspicion in the investigation.

“All LGBTI+ associations in this country are registered organizations that operate legally and are audited by the Interior Ministry several times every year.

"Public institutions, ministries and foundations close to the government, such as TÜGVA, are also among the main beneficiaries of the European Union and United Nations funding being discussed. So does that make us criminals?”

Journalist, LGBTI+ activist Yıldız Tar released after a month in detention

22 July 2026

Tar added that media outlets close to the government had portrayed the associations’ financial transactions as though “a criminal structure had been uncovered,” stressing that the transactions disclosed were already reported to the state:

“All the information being presented is publicly available and has been reported to the state. What do those records show? Someone made a donation to an LGBTI+ association. Where is the crime in that? An employee of an LGBTI+ association received an advance and later repaid it. Where is the crime in that?

"The associations developed projects, submitted applications, carried out those projects and reported every expense item by item. And it does not end there. All of this is reported as part of Interior Ministry inspections.

"When an association receives a donation or project funding from abroad, it can only use that money after reporting it. This is something overseen by the Interior Ministry. How can that be a crime?"

'LGBTI+s organize not be killed'

Tar said LGBTI+s organize to protect themselves from violence and discrimination:

“LGBTI+s organize simply so they will not be killed. They organize simply so they can be treated like human beings. And then you proceed on the claim that this is somehow a crime.

‘What they call obscenity is the existence of LGBTI+s’

Tar also rejected claims that children had been “exposed to obscene content” and that attempts had been made to “change” their sexual orientation:

“They say ‘obscene content was shared where children could see it,’ but what they call obscene content is the existence of LGBTI+s. They also say, ‘They are trying to change their sexual orientation.’ We are talking about a movement that has been saying for years that sexual orientation and gender identity cannot be changed. It is not only the LGBTI+ movement saying this. The World Health Organization, health institutions and human rights organizations say the same thing.”

Tar drew attention to “conversion therapy” practices based on the claim that sexual orientation and gender identity can be changed:

"There are people who say sexual orientation and gender identity can be changed. Do you know who? Charlatans posing as psychologists who practice conversion therapy.

"Under the guise of conversion therapy, they try to forcibly turn gay people heterosexual, to change them through torture. If you are going to invent a crime called changing sexual orientation, they are the ones committing it."

Turkey's LGBTI+ crackdown draws condemnation from rights groups, politicians

14 September 2026

‘We are part of this land’

Tar concluded by emphasizing LGBTI+s’ demand for equal and humane treatment:

“We are saying something very simple, and we will continue to say it. We are part of this land. We were born here, we grew up here, and we live here. We want to be treated like human beings. We do not want to be looked down on.

"Everyone who speaks out against this persecution now will be standing up for their own humanity. Standing up for LGBTI+s today means standing up for our humanity and our conscience.”

(NÖ)

Calling the operations dubbed 'My Family Is Safe' an attempt to silence advocacy, opposition figures and civil society groups called for the immediate release of those detained and an end to increasing pressure.

Dozens of people were detained during the raids on several charges including "obscenity," "prostitution" and narcotics-related charges.

People's Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party Women’s Council

"We do not accept the detention, search, seizure, and access blocking attacks targeting LGBTI+ associations, rights defenders, and digital publishing platforms.

"This operation, named 'My Family Is Safe,' as the name suggests, is an operation to subjugate society. It is clear proof of the persistent continuation of monist and sexist policies.

"Women are subjected to violence and murdered every day inside families called 'safe.' Different sexual identities are not a security problem for this country, families, or society.

"The real security issue is the violence, impunity, and discrimination that threaten the lives of women and LGBTI+s.

"You cannot keep society safe by silencing rights defenders, fueling hate crimes, blocking publications, and targeting freedom of association.

"Society's safety is possible not through oppression and bans, but by guaranteeing equality, freedom, justice, and the right to life."

Perihan Koca, DEM Party MP

"The 'My Family Is Safe' operation carried out against LGBTI+ associations and activists in İstanbul, Ankara, İzmir, Aydın, and Mersin is not an ordinary operation. It is a new threshold operation in the institutionalization of fascism. For the yeast of the fascist regime is stamped with hostility toward women and LGBTI+s.

"To create the subject society needed by fascism, they want to create an acceptable family and an acceptable citizen that obeys the palace.

"While data proves that the family and the home, expressed as the safest place for women under the name of the Family Decade, is where women, children, and LGBTI+s suffer the most violence and massacres, one needs to ask the palace and its cabinet: 'Which family?'

"While children you do not deign to give a single meal go to school hungry and go to bed hungry in deep poverty, while mothers and fathers who cannot bring bread home are driven to suicide, one needs to ask: 'Which family is safe?'

"Creating reactionary responses to cover up poverty, which is the real agenda of the public, is their only recourse, and the announced family decade fits right into this."

Özhül Saki, DEM Party MP

"We do not accept these operations targeting LGBTI+ associations and activists. You are inventing crimes. You are attacking people and the spaces they stand in solidarity with through fabricated crimes.

"The common point of the associations and people you target is their opposition to the pro-family, moralist, and hate-producing policies you impose. Under the name of 'protecting the family,' you want to narrow society into a single lifestyle, target LGBTI+s, and criminalize those fighting for their rights.

"Keep your family to yourselves. Your hostile understanding of morality will not decide how anyone lives, who stands beside whom, or who organizes.

"We will continue to stand against these policies that target our lives, promote pro-family bias, and produce hate and hostility."

İrfan Değirmenci, journalist and Workers' Party of Turkey (TİP) Party Assembly member

"The police raid on the Kaos GL Association in Ankara early in the morning and the detentions, along with simultaneous raids in İstanbul, are attempts to intimidate us.

"Let the detainees be released immediately.

"No one's family is under threat; we are the ones under threat.

"We existed, we exist, we will exist."

Lawyers for Freedom Association (ÖHD)

"As a result of the operation targeting LGBTI+ associations, 20 rights defenders, including our clients, were detained in İstanbul and taken to the Provincial Gendarmerie Command in Maslak. There is a confidentiality order on the file and statements will be taken tomorrow. We are following the legal process."

Human Rights Defenders Solidarity Network

"We woke up to news of a large-scale operation targeting LGBTI+ organizations and rights defenders, including components of our network. We follow with great concern the raids on the offices of LGBTI+ organizations and the homes of rights defenders, the detention of numerous people, and the targeting of the LGBTI+ movement as a whole in operations coordinated by chief public prosecutor's offices.

"It is unacceptable to criminalize legitimate and legal activities conducted in the field of LGBTI+ rights by pairing them with allegations of prostitution, obscenity, drugs, and similar offenses.

"Defending human rights and LGBTI+ rights is not a crime. Our friends with whom we carry out the struggle for rights must be released immediately and unconditionally, and all pressure, targeting, and interventions aimed at preventing the existence, freedom of association, and rights advocacy activities of LGBTI+s must end immediately."

Turkish Psychiatric Association

"With this operation, not only LGBTI+s but also associations working to protect the rights, health, and quality of life of people living with HIV, develop social awareness, and fight against stigma have been targeted.

"The fact that access to the website and social media accounts of the Sexual Education Treatment and Research Association has been restricted clearly reveals the extent of this disproportion.

"In this respect, what is experienced goes beyond oppression and discrimination to criminalize access to healthcare, which is a fundamental human right. Such an approach will alienate people from health services and lead to a serious public health problem.

"We remind all responsible parties, especially state institutions and the justice system, that their duty is not to support discriminatory approaches, but to protect the rights of those subjected to discrimination."

Human Rights Association (İHD)

"On the anniversary of the Sep 12 military coup, the accounts of LGBTI+ organizations, journalists, and rights defenders were blocked; simultaneous raids were launched in numerous cities.

"This picture is not a judicial investigation; it is a political operation that forces society into a monist family model through the rhetoric of 'protecting the family and children,' aiming to liquidate LGBTI+s and independent civil society. Lumping unrelated charges like 'establishing an organization,' 'drugs,' 'prostitution,' and 'obscenity' into the same bag serves not to reveal the truth, but to portray an entire community as criminal.

"The state mindset of Sep 12, which closed associations, banned publications, and demonized those who were different, is being maintained today under the name 'My Family Is Safe.' The Justice Minister's statements, which declare guilt in advance regarding ongoing investigations and produce hate speech, are unacceptable.

"Rights defenders in detention must be released immediately; raids must end, access blocks must be lifted, and seized materials must be returned."

Nacho Sanchez Amor, European Parliament Turkey Rapporteur

"The sweeping wave of arrests and raids against LGBTI+ activists is a shocking escalation in the repression in Turkey. This imposition of a moral agenda is a blatant violation of fundamental rights and Turkey's international commitments, taking the country down a dark path."

Amnesty International Turkey

"Defending human rights and LGBTI+ rights is not a crime. Our friends with whom we fight for rights must be released immediately and unconditionally; all pressure, targeting, and interventions aimed at preventing LGBTI+s' freedom of association and rights advocacy activities must cease."

(VK)

The train 

The plane

The sun 

The sea 

The happiness 

All cylinders 

The train cut through Anatolia 

Giant peaches flew into my face lush, enormous tomatos as big as houses turned my face red. “Is there more” I shrieked.

The bakery was filling up in my mind thick with yeast and happiness. Cheese rolled down the hills of Trabzon, Mersin and every farm from, Batman, Konya Giresun and beyond. “They’re all so different strong and creamy.”

The tea house opened on the train and on every street corner. “Come inside enişte.” As night fell aniseed rolled in the air. “That tastes of nothing,” and I fell through the cracks in my mind.

Contentment ran down every stream,

A helping hand never far away 

“Does this country run on smiles.”

Then the train turned and blackness soaked the skin and the night.

People were being taken. “Tell my wife I love her.” 

Shopping bags had holes nothing in it. “What will I eat tonight.” 

The moon pulled a sad face and the stars were wasted here / eyes down / those far from the grave saw the journey speeding up. “I’ve got nothing in my pockets.” 

There was nothing to laugh at just look at the clock on the wall, work starts at 9 and finishes at 9 look at the screen and believe what you are told. 

There are reds under the beds perverts down your street keep believing in what is pure and clean. 

It sank into the Bosphorus something about a loose cable and no safety certificate the old one rusty in a place that is running on no cylinders just screams.

The LGBTI+ community and advocacy in the country have been under increasing pressure over the past couple of years but this latest crackdown was unprecedented in scale.

The investigation in Ankara centers on the Kaos GL Association, the country's longest-standing LGBTI+ advocacy group which also runs a news outlet focusing on the community's issues.

Police raided the homes of members and executives of the association in and detained more than 10 people, as well as searching the group's office.

The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office is investigating the association on allegations of "obscenity" and "violations of the Associations Law." The investigation is based on material published on Kaos GL’s website and social media accounts.

LGBTI+ rights group's Instagram account banned as censorship continues during Pride Month

30 June 2026

Prosecutors accused the association of publishing "obscene" material that is accessible to children.

They also accused the group of violating the Associations Law by carrying out such activities "under the umbrella of a civil society organization."

Police seized the association's digital equipment including computers, mobile phones, tablets, portable storage devices.

Over the past year, Turkish authorities have increasingly used obscenity investigations in cases involving non-explicit material. Stage performances by singers, non-explicit images shared on social media and statements concerning people’s sex lives have been subject to such investigations. Kaos GL’s content is the latest to be investigated on those grounds.

Trans activist Janset Kalan sentenced for 'obscenity' over photo showing 'cleavage'

26 November 2025

Trans actor Meli Bendeli jailed in ‘obscenity’ probe over social media posts

8 September 2026

The country's laws prohibits the distribution of obscene material but lack a clear definition of obscenity. This resulted a broad interpretation of the offense by authorities recently.

'My Family is Safe' operations

Following the operations, Justice Minister Akın Gürlek said on social media that 162 people, nine associations and 13 businesses were facing legal action as part of operations dubbed “My Family Is Safe.”

Gürlek said the operations were being carried out in line with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s “2026–2035 Decade of Family and Population” vision and a 2026 presidential circular, claiming the measures were aimed at “protecting children, the institution of the family and public order.”

Thousands gather at anti-LGBTI+ rally in İstanbul

19 September 2022

Being LGBTI+ or engaging in LGBTI+ rights advocacy is not illegal in Turkey. However, pressure on the queer community has increased since the government declared 2025 the “Year of the Family.”

Pride marches and other queer-themed events and gatherings have not been permitted, while restrictions on hormone therapy have effectively prevented people under 21 from accessing gender-affirming treatment.

Health Ministry cites ‘family values’ for hormone therapy access restrictions

11 September 2026

LGBTI+ groups also regularly face online censorship, including blocks on websites and social media accounts belonging to activists and rights groups.

Trans activists pop up in Kadıköy after decoy parade draws police to Taksim

21 June 2026

Raids in İstanbul

At around the same time as the Ankara operation, police and gendarmerie teams carried out raids at numerous addresses in İstanbul.

The operations overnight targeted venues frequented by LGBTI+s in Beyoğlu and Şişli districts, as well as offices of associations.

Several people were detained during the raids.

Popular LGBTI+ Sixties pub shut down in Ankara

24 August 2026

One of İstanbul's oldest gay bars shut down after invitation to 'gay cruise' passengers

29 June 2026

Wave of online censorship

Yesterday, authorities blocked access to numerous websites and social media accounts belonging to LGBTI+ organizations and activists.

Under decision by the İstanbul 7th Penal Judgeship of Peace, access to websites and social mediaa accounts belonging to 73 associstions and activists groups were blocked. The targeted groups included the Kaos GL Association, 17 May Association, ÜniKuir’s news platform, Pembe Hayat Association, SPoD, Genç LGBTİ+ Association, Lambdaistanbul and Muamma LGBTİ+ Association and Velvele.net.

According to the Freedom of Expression Association (İFÖD), the order also covered social media accounts belonging to 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 court orders and made the affected accounts inaccessible from Turkey. Instagram had not yet implemented the orders.

Turkey bans access to LGBTI+ groups' social media accounts

22 June 2026

(NÖ/VK)

The operation was carried out simultaneously in 22 provinces, centered on Ankara. Prosecutors issued detention orders for 32 suspects, 19 of them children. Efforts to locate five remaining suspects continue.

The prosecutor’s office said the investigation was launched over what it described as “criminal content” shared on social media and messaging platforms.

It also alleged that the suspects had posted about preparations for armed attacks targeting three schools in three provinces.

95% of İstanbul families concerned about school attacks

15 May 2026

Previous investigations

Groups operating under the C31K name on platforms like Telegram and Discord have previously been investigated over threats and abuse targeting children and animals, the sharing of personal data and violent content.

Dozens of people, including minors, were arrested in September last year, with 10 individuals formally arrested.

Turkey bans Discord after revelations of 'incel' cyberbullying, child exploitation

9 October 2024

C31K also came under scrutiny after back-to-back school shootings in Urfa and Maraş in April, which left nine people dead and dozens injured.

Nine killed in second school shooting in Turkey in two days

15 April 2026

Following the attacks, the General Directorate of Security said 111 Telegram channels it assessed as linked to C31K had been shut down.

Authorities had also blocked access to 1,866 web addresses and detained 411 people over posts that allegedly contained threats or calls for violent action.

Rise of Incel ideology in Turkey ‘fueled by government policies’

27 October 2024

(NÖ/VK)

The restrictions were implemented through a directive issued by the ministry in July last year, effectively hindering gender-affirming therapy for individuals under 21. Separately, hormone prescriptions registered for gender-affirming therapy has been blocked since February.

Kaos GL, an LGBTI+ advocacy group, said it had formally requested information from the ministry regarding the restrictions. The ministry gave a response after an intervention from the Ombudsman Institution but it left some questions unanswered.

LGBTI+ groups denounce new hormone access restrictions

2 July 2025

In its response, the ministry confirmed that testosterone, GnRH analogues and medications containing at least 2 milligrams of estrogen alone cannot be prescribed for gender reassignment purposes to people under 21.

The ministry said the restrictions were intended to ensure “patient safety” and protect the “family structure.”

It referred to efforts to prevent what it called “gender-neutralization policies” and said one of its objectives was “eliminating threats to the Turkish family structure.”

The response did not explain why hormone prescriptions registered with the F64 diagnosis code, titled “transsexualism,” have been blocked in the electronic prescription system since February.

The ministry also said it had established a “Scientific Committee for Gender Transition Oversight and Evaluation” to review medical records.

'This is not acceptable'

Ecmel Deniz of the My Hormone Right (Hormon Hakkım) Collective told KaosGL that the ministry’s response had formally revealed the political approach behind restrictions on access to hormones by referring to "family structure" and "gender-neutralization policies."

Noting that the restriction also applies to adults aged 18–20, Deniz said, “We do not find it acceptable for access to health care to be restricted based on family policy rather than on the individual’s needs and a medical evaluation.”

New collective formed to defend trans people's right to hormone access

5 March 2026

Regarding the issue of de facto restrictions, to which the ministry has not responded, Deniz said, “This also highlights the risk that the restrictive framework previously sought to be established through legislative changes will be implemented through administrative practices even before the law is amended.”

Turkey’s Medicines and Medical Devices Agency introduced an electronic prescription requirement in Nov 2024 for some hormone medications used by trans people during gender transition.

The Health Ministry later restricted the prescription of some hormones for gender transition purposes to people under 21. Since February, prescriptions entered under the F64 diagnosis code have been unable to be signed and completed in the electronic system. (NÖ/VK)

The company detailed the operation in its report, “Detecting and countering misuse of AI,” which examined what the company described as malicious uses of its AI systems over the past eight months and said it had disrupted.

The alleged ranges from an Iran-backed Houthi group's use of Claude to develop ballistic missile guidance software to cyberattacks, AI supply-chain schemes aimed at stealing tokens and API keys, and influence operations, according to the report.

The company said it identified and removed an account that used Claude to operate a commercial election-manipulation platform primarily targeting Malaysia.

'A political operations ecosystem'

The platform was linked to İstanbul-based BBS Bilişim Teknolojileri, which Anthropic said sold access to it as a paid influence service. The operator’s own documentation described the system as a “military-grade, AI-driven, real-time political operations ecosystem.”

According to the report, the platform used census and electoral data, including millions of voter records, to profile voters across Malaysia’s 222 parliamentary constituencies. Targeting focused on political and social divisions involving race, religion and royalty.

The operation managed more than 1,000 fake accounts on X, using techniques intended to make them appear authentic and evade detection. A dashboard allowed operators to set artificial engagement targets. Anthropic said it observed a request for one million artificial views in support of the sitting Malaysian prime minister.

Malaysia's next general elections are scheduled to take place no later than Feb 2028.

Creating fabricated news

The network also operated a fake news outlet called “Malaysia Pulse.” Claude was used to rewrite legitimate Malaysian reporting and republish it under fabricated bylines. The outlet also republished material from Russian and Chinese state-aligned media while removing references to their state affiliations.

The operators also produced fabricated intelligence dossiers containing false allegations against an opposition politician and civil-society organizations.

Anthropic classified the campaign as "Category Two" on its Breakout Scale, meaning its assets appeared across multiple platforms but showed no evidence of reaching authentic communities. (VK)

The organization arranged heroin shipments from Iran and Afghanistan to Europe and synthetic drug shipments from Europe to Turkey, Justice Minister Akın Gürlek said in a statement.

The operation that led to Yakut's apprehension was coordinated by judicial authorities, narcotics police and the National Intelligence Organization (MİT), the minister noted.

Yakut, who had been wanted as a fugitive since 2017, was found to have instructed organization members through the encrypted communication platforms ANOM and SKY ECC, according to the minister.

Gürlek added that the organization was found to be responsible for a total of 2 tons of drugs seized in Turkey and European countries.

Prison escape

Yakut, 60, was detained in İstanbul on Jun 21, 2009, on a drug-related charge and sentenced to 17 years and six months in prison.

After serving about six years at Silivri Closed Prison, he was transferred to a semi-open prison.

Yakut later gained admission to the public administration department of a private university through open education exams. He reportedly traveled to the exams under gendarmerie escort and was allowed to attend university on weekdays.

In 2017, Yakut was granted special leave four times and excused leave twice. After receiving another period of special leave in June 2017, he failed to return to prison and became a fugitive.

The court convicted Cemil K. of intentionally killing a woman with monstrous intent and torture. It also sentenced him to three years in prison for blackmail and seven years for unlawfully depriving a person of their liberty through force and threats.

Cemil K. was also sentenced to two years in prison and fined 5,000 liras for unlawfully obtaining or disclosing personal data. In a separate case, he received seven years for unlawfully depriving a person of their liberty through force and threats.

bianet is Monitoring Male Violence

13 December 2024

Five other defendants, Oğuz K., Necmettin E., Erhan G., Barış Can A. and Yusuf Ziya S., were each sentenced to five years for destroying, concealing or altering evidence.

İlker Umut U. received seven years and six months for assisting an offender, while Necdet Ç. was sentenced to four years and 15 months for unlawfully obtaining or disclosing personal data.

Cemal A. and Mustafa Enes A. were acquitted of aiding intentional killing. The court ordered the release of Cemal A., who had been held in pretrial detention. Umut U. was also acquitted of abuse of office.

The court declined to apply discretionary sentence reductions under Article 62 of the Turkish Penal Code, citing the convicted defendants' conduct during the trial and their lack of remorse.

What happened?

Tokyaz's body was found in a suitcase by a roadside in İstanbul's Mithatpaşa neighborhood on Jul 13, 2025. Investigators determined that she had last gone to Cemil K.'s home in the Atakent neighborhood of Küçükçekmece, where she was killed and placed in the suitcase before her body was left by a roadside in Eyüpsultan.

Cemil K. had previously been dismissed from the police force over offenses including resisting an officer, threats, insults and intentional injury. The indictment said he had eight previous judicial records, including one suspicious death and three cases involving intentional injury and threats. (EMK/VK)

In his letter, Süsem explained that despite favorable rulings from the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), the Constitutional Court, and the Court of Cassation, the İstanbul 12th Heavy Penal Court has refused to release him in his retrial.

Ahead of his hearing scheduled for Oct 6, he issued a call to press workers and the public:

Hello,

I am one of the detained and convicted journalists. I will soon complete my 25th year in prison. I am still in prison, and I am still on trial.

I have been acquitted in my other cases. Although I should legally be acquitted in this case as well—despite rulings in my favor by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), the Constitutional Court of Turkey (AYM), and the Court of Cassation—I remain in prison due to the Istanbul 12th High Criminal Court’s insistence on keeping me behind bars.

I was the editor and a writer for the September Arts and Literature Magazine. Recently, I also published “The Perfect Murder I / Shadows and Images,” one of the novels I’ve been writing and keeping on the back burner for years.

The history of my trial is quite long. Here, I’d like to focus only on the developments from the past few years.

On May 23, 2019, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), citing Turkey’s acceptances and commitments, ruled that my “right to a fair trial”—guaranteed under Article 6(1) of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)—had been violated in my trial.

In accordance with this decision, on July 16, 2019, I filed a request for a retrial with the 12th Istanbul High Criminal Court. The court rejected my request. I then appealed to the Constitutional Court.

On September 13, 2022, the Constitutional Court, citing the ECtHR's ruling in my favor, ruled that my “right to a fair trial,” guaranteed under Article 36 of the Constitution, had been violated and that a retrial was necessary to remedy the violation. It emphasized the fundamental principles of a fair trial, such as the exclusion of evidence obtained in violation of the law, the investigation of the material truth, the collection of evidence, the hearing of witnesses, and the defense’s ability to cross-examine witnesses.

The first retrial process began on December 7, 2022, when the Constitutional Court’s decision was sent to the Istanbul 12th High Criminal Court.

However, during this four-hearing process, the 12th High Criminal Court once again violated my “right to a fair trial.

It retained evidence obtained in violation of the law in the case file. It rejected my requests for an investigation, the collection of evidence, and the examination of witnesses. It did not even grant my request to personally attend the hearings.

Although I argued that all the alleged evidence was in my favor and no new evidence was presented against me, the previous verdict was upheld.

On December 21, 2023, I exercised my right to appeal. On April 9, 2025, the Third Criminal Chamber of the Court of Appeals, citing the Constitutional Court’s decision, overturned the verdict on its merits and, like the Constitutional Court, emphasized the fundamental principles of a fair trial.

The Court of Cassation also ruled that the retrial must be conducted under Article 311/1-e of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CMK). This provision governs the retrial process when new facts or evidence could warrant the acquittal of the convicted person or a lighter sentence.

Although the İstanbul 12th Heavy Penal Court initiated the second retrial process, it defied not only the Constitutional Court’s ruling in my favor but also the Supreme Court’s decision. My requests for an investigation, the collection of evidence, and the hearing of witnesses were rejected.

I have been unjustly and unlawfully detained for approximately 25 years. The rulings in my favor by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), the Constitutional Court, and the Court of Cassation all call for my acquittal, yet the 12th Heavy Penal Court is failing to implement the decisions of the higher courts.

Because I have clear doubts about the court’s fairness and impartiality, I filed a motion to recuse the judge. My motion was rejected without undergoing a thorough review.

I have been imprisoned for 25 years. I continue to be held unjustly and unlawfully. For 25 years, I have been waging an exhausting legal battle.

My hearing is scheduled for October 6, 2026, at the 12th Heavy Penal Court in Istanbul (Çağlayan). I am counting on your support, as well as that of the press and the democratic public.

With love,

(HA/VK)

The action was part of the group’s “The Real Cause: Fossil Fuels” campaign, which focuses on the impact of the climate crisis in different parts of Turkey.

According to the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority’s (AFAD) Sinkhole Susceptibility Map, 739 sinkholes have been recorded in the Konya Closed Basin. Of these, 702 are in the Konya province, 29 in Karaman and eight in Aksaray.

Konya previously had 576 recorded sinkholes, with another 126 added since 2020. While sinkholes are a natural phenomenon, research links their sharp increase in recent years to the climate crisis, drought and uncontrolled groundwater use.

Konya sinkholes: The harbinger of a food crisis

20 December 2024

The cause of the explosion has not yet been determined.

The child was taken to a hospital with serious injuries but died despite medical intervention.

Authorities have launched an investigation to determine how the explosion occurred and identify those responsible.

Child worker deaths

According to data from the Workers’ Health and Work Safety Assembly (İSİG), at least 852 children died while working in Turkey between 2013 and July 2026.

Of those children, 730 were boys and 122 were girls. Ninety-eight were refugee or migrant children.

İSİG also reported that at least 12 children died in work-related incidents in July 2026 alone.

Every year 64 children die in workplace accidents in Turkey

12 June 2025

Legislation on child labor

Turkey’s Labor Law No. 4857 regulates the types of work that people under 18 may and may not perform.

Under the law, children who have turned 15 but are under 18 are defined as "young workers." Fourteen-year-olds who have completed primary education are also allowed to do some types of work.

Child rights advocates say the legal distinction between “child workers” and “young workers” creates a framework that permits children to work rather than preventing child labor.

They argue that age-based categories create gaps in protection and that existing regulations are insufficient to eliminate child labor.

THREE CHILD WORKERS KILLED IN A WEEK

'Businesses employ two children in place of one adult at same cost'

23 October 2025

(NÖ/VK)

The police reviewed 257,481 accounts as part of what authorities call “virtual patrol” activities. Users of 162,298 accounts were identified and reported to judicial authorities.

Police detained 8,471 people as a result of the monitoring. Courts ordered the arrest of 496 suspects and placed 1,360 under judicial supervision, while no further action was taken against 6,615 individuals.

The police report said the accounts were investigated over suspected offenses including "propaganda for terrorist organizations," "selling or promoting drugs," "incitement to hatred and enmity," "violence against women and animals," "insulting the president," "threatening the country’s territorial integrity or public safety," "insulting the Turkish nation and state," and offenses against Atatürk.

The gendarmerie separately reviewed 342,699 social media accounts. They identified 47,936 users and initiated proceedings against them.

Together, the police and gendarmerie examined 600,180 accounts and launched investigations involving 210,234 people during the year.

Online patrols deemed unlawful by top court

The monitoring has continued despite a 2020 Constitutional Court ruling that struck down the legal provision authorizing police to conduct such "online patrols."

Police were granted the authority in 2017 through an amendment to Law No. 2559 on Police Duties and Powers. The provision allowed police investigating online offenses to obtain internet subscribers’ identity information and conduct online inquiries to determine the competent chief public prosecutor’s office.

Police 'Virtual Patrol' Teams 'Unlawfully' Investigate 30 Thousand People a Day

11 October 2019

After the amendment was challenged on constitutional grounds, the top court annulled it.

The court found that the provision did not meet the requirements of a democratic social order and noted that personal data are protected under the Constitution.

It also noted that police could investigate an identified person only on the instructions of a prosecutor.

(VK)

The results released yesterday by the OECD showed that Turkey ranked 19th among 91 countries in science, 18th in reading and 28th in mathematics. It rose 15 places in science, 18 in reading and 11 in mathematics. 

The country moved above the OECD average for the first time in science and reading and reached the OECD average in mathematics.

Turkey’s science score increased by 18 points from 2022 to 494, while its reading score rose 16 points to 472 and its mathematics score climbed nine points to 462.

More than 760,000 15-year-old students from 91 countries and economies participated in PISA 2025, which assesses skills in reading, mathematics and science.

Average scores decline

The gains in Turkey came as performance declined substantially across OECD countries, particularly in reading and mathematics. Between 2015 and 2025, average OECD scores fell by 28 points in reading, 22 in mathematics and 7 in science.

About 29 percent of 15-year-olds across OECD countries were classified as low performers in all three subjects.

National Education Ministry data showed that Turkey improved its relative ranking by more than 50 percent in all three fields between 2003 and 2025.

The OECD reality: Are the numbers speaking, or is the perception being managed?

14 April 2026

Socioeconomic disparities

Despite Turkey's gains in overall scores, the socioeconomic gap between its students remain significant, PISA figures showed.

Students in Turkey from the most advantaged 25 percent of households scored 81 points higher in science than those in the least advantaged 25 percent.

The science performance gap between advantaged and disadvantaged students widened in Turkey between 2015 and 2025, while it narrowed across OECD countries. 

Poverty grips Turkey’s children amid policy inaction

26 September 2025

Over 40 percent of students eperience deprivation

PISA 2025 also examined material and social deprivation. Material deprivation included lacking access for financial reasons to basic clothing, footwear, new clothes or bathing facilities. Social deprivation covered limited access to paid leisure activities, games at home and outdoor activities.

In Turkey, 41.6 percent of students experienced at least one form of deprivation. Material deprivation affected 34.3 percent, while 18.9 percent experienced social deprivation.

Across participating countries, students experiencing any form of deprivation scored an average of 52 points lower in science than their peers who did not. The gap reached 64 points for students experiencing material deprivation and 53 points for those experiencing social deprivation.

'One in four children in Turkey goes to school hungry'

5 December 2024

Resource shortages

The report also identified staffing and resource shortages at schools. Eight percent of students in Turkey attended schools where principals said a lack of teachers hindered instruction.

Shortages of non-teaching staff were more widespread. Forty-three percent of students attended schools where principals said such shortages disrupted education at least to some extent, compared with an OECD average of 39 percent.

Twenty-four percent of students in Turkey attended schools lacking educational resources such as textbooks, information technology, library materials or laboratory equipment. Another 14 percent studied in schools with shortcomings in facilities such as buildings, schoolyards or heating systems.

Two million children in Turkey in ‘absolute poverty’

15 November 2024

Absenteeism well over OECD average

Absenteeism in Turkey was also well above the OECD average. Fifty-three percent of students said they had missed at least one full day of school during the two weeks before the PISA assessment.

The figure was 52 percent in 2018 and 53 percent in 2022, compared with an OECD average of 22 percent in 2025.

Forty-nine percent of students in Turkey said they had been late for school at least once, close to the OECD average of 50 percent. The report also found that 28 percent of students in Turkey considered school "a waste of time," compared with an OECD average of 24 percent.

Over 800,000 children in Turkey are out of education, report finds

27 November 2025

Bullying remains high across OECD countries

Bullying also remained widespread across all countries. In Turkey, 21.4 percent of students said they experienced at least one form of bullying several times a month or more, compared with an OECD average of 20 percent.

Some 15.7 percent said other students had made fun of them, while 3.2 percent reported being threatened. Three percent of students in both Turkey and the OECD overall said upsetting information about them had been posted online several times a month or more. (VK)