ISTANBUL, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Turkish authorities arrested at least 31 people pending trial on Tuesday as part of a government campaign targeting LGBTQ+ groups, while police detained at least 126 people during protests in Ankara and Istanbul against recent raids and arrests, lawyers said.
The arrests marked the latest escalation in what rights groups and opposition figures have described as a widening campaign against the LGBTQ+ community, with authorities over the past week raiding association offices, blocking websites and jailing suspects across multiple provinces.
The latest arrests included five transgender women in Ankara and 26 people in the southern province of Mersin while legal processes continue for others detained, the lawyers said.
Police prevented a group from making a press statement outside an Istanbul courthouse on Tuesday and dispersed pro-LGBTQ+ protesters in the capital Ankara as they attempted to gather.
The protests came after the authorities detained dozens in sweeping raids targeting LGBTQ+ associations in several Turkish provinces under an operation dubbed "My Family is Safe", which the government says is aimed at protecting children and family values.
Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Michael O'Flaherty said on Tuesday he was concerned by the arrests, raids and online restrictions targeting LGBTQ+ civil society and human rights defenders.
He said references to "family values" or the "protection of children" could not in themselves justify human rights restrictions, and called for the release of anyone detained for human rights or civil society work.
A Turkish court on Monday jailed 18 people pending trial in the western province of Izmir as part of the operation, the lawyers also said.
Justice Minister Akin Gurlek said on Sunday the investigations, coordinated by prosecutors in Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Aydin and Mersin, involved 162 suspects, nine associations and 13 businesses across 15 provinces.
Turkish authorities have also blocked access to websites and social media accounts belonging to various LGBTQ+ associations, individuals and independent media outlets, including the X account of Amnesty International's Turkey branch.
(Reporting by Umit Bektas and Mert Ozkan, Writing by Ece Toksabay; Editing by Tuvan Gumrukcu and Alistair Bell)
