House arrest and detentions in Turkey for what we celebrate openly in the streets of Berlin

6 days ago

3 min read

The Turkey raids and ShibariTurkey

Berlin celebrated Folsom this weekend. On Fuggerstraße, queer people from around the world stood in leather, latex and gear, in the middle of Schöneberg, in broad daylight. A few people complained that the rules were somewhat stricter this year, whether for safety, out of consideration for residents, or, sadly quite probably, because the political wind in Berlin is shifting.

But on that same Saturday, Turkish police searched 38 addresses across 15 provinces: association offices, workplaces, private homes.

What happened

The operation runs under the name "My Family Is Safe". According to the Minister of Justice, proceedings have been opened against 162 individuals, 9 associations and 13 companies. The Istanbul public prosecutor's office reports 26 arrests; the organisation Kaos GL speaks of more than 50. In Ankara, police entered the premises of Kaos GL and detained members of its board. The social media accounts of dozens of organisations were blocked. In Istanbul, a gay bar, a club and a men's hammam were also raided.

The charges: prostitution, obscenity, influencing minors. The stated aim, according to the prosecutor's office: to prevent these activities from being "regarded as normal" in society.

"My Family Is Safe"

The name of the operation says it all. President Erdoğan has declared 2026–2035 the "Decade of Family and Population"; Justice Minister Gürlek invokes the "protection of children, the institution of the family and social order".

Whoever protects the family must first define which family is meant…

A (queer) family is, sadly, anything but safe here. Family models are stripped of their diversity. Standardised to a template set by the government.

For context: the operation is framed in terms of family policy and nationalism, and apparently not religion, though it will certainly find supporters in that quarter.

The case of ShibariTurkey

Through a Shibari group I came across the FetLife post (https://fetlife.com/shibariturk/posts/14479361) by ShibariTurkey, a rope collective from Istanbul. By their own account on FetLife, four obscenity investigations have been running against them for years. Days before the nationwide raids, their home was searched, their devices seized, and they were placed under house arrest. During the house arrest, the police came back. This time they were looking for drugs and rainbow flags.

One member of the group, known on FetLife as @Jjanet, was transferred to Ankara and is now in pre-trial detention. The others may not leave their home and cannot stand by her.

These details come from the collective's own post. They have not been independently verified; the timing lines up plausibly with the operation, but no more can be said at present.

A Shibari collective and a human rights organisation fall under the same articles of law; rainbow flags and drugs… "Obscenity" covers art, consensual practice, private life. Photos, profiles and hard drives become evidence.

The collective is asking the international Shibari and BDSM community for three things: visibility, questions about the proceedings, and legal and civil-society solidarity. In their words: "We need this process to remain visible."

The group's Instagram post: https://www.instagram.com/p/DdNTJdrCqY0/

Kaos GL

Kaos GL has existed since 1994 and in 2005 became the first officially registered LGBTQ association in Turkey. Istanbul Pride has been banned since 2015; in 2022, more than 360 people were detained at it. Last weekend's raids are the biggest step so far, not a new direction.

My opinion

A queer or kinky person, and their visibility, is never a threat to a family that values and respects one another. People who are allowed to be who they are will develop the way they should, especially when they understand early on that there is more than one model, that there are many possibilities, and that each one is worth just as much. Anyone who wants to protect all families and the entire population must protect the full diversity of families, not only those that fit one notion of normal.

2026 is the first year of the "Decade of Family and Population". Families and the population of Turkey can therefore brace themselves for ten years of discrimination, intimidation and repression. Or perhaps it is, once again, just a distraction from state failure elsewhere… Where else one should be looking right now is for each reader to decide.

Sources:

Viele Festnahmen bei Razzien gegen LGBTQI+-Vereine in der Türkei – https://www.zeit.de/politik/ausland/2026-09/tuerkei-razzien-lgbt-aktivisten-kaos-gl-gxe
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH (ShibariTurkey) – https://fetlife.com/shibariturk/posts/14479361
Türkei: Razzien bei queeren Organisationen und Clubs – https://www.queer.de/detail.php?article_id=59538
Türkei: Razzien und Festnahmen bei LGBTQ-Organisationen – https://orf.at/stories/3442046
More than 300 LGBTQ activists in Istanbul are released after being detained – https://www.npr.org/2022/06/27/1107752526/more-than-300-lgbtq-activists-in-istanbul-are-released-after-being-detained
FOLSOM Europe e.V. – https://folsomeurope.berlin/