Solidarity with youth organisations in Türkiye

Statement by the DBJR Executive Board

During the night of 12 to 13 September, searches and arrests were carried out in 15 provinces across Türkiye as part of several criminal investigations. According to the Turkish Minister of Justice, investigations have been launched against 162 individuals, as well as nine associations and 13 companies. According to media reports, at least 47 people were arrested. The exact figures and the scope of the individual proceedings are currently still being verified.

Member organisations of the national youth network GoFor have also been affected by these measures. These include GençLGBTİ+ and KAOS GL. At KAOS GL, members of the executive board and the supervisory board, as well as their alternate members, were arrested. The organisation’s premises were also searched[1]. As early as 12 September, the websites and social media accounts of numerous LGBTQIA+ organisations, media outlets, student groups and activists had been blocked. GoFor’s digital platforms were also affected.

The Turkish authorities cite, amongst other things, allegations relating to prostitution and “obscenity”, as well as the alleged influence on minors regarding issues of sexual orientation and gender identity, as grounds for the investigations. The funding of the organisations concerned is also being investigated. Justice Minister Akın Gürlek referred to the funding of organisations from abroad and announced that he would examine its origin and connection to the activities under investigation.[2] These measures, directed in particular against LGBTQIA+ organisations and activists, must be viewed explicitly in the context of the Turkish government’s family policy, which, according to the European Commission’s 2025 Türkiye Report[3], has since 2024, through the ‘Vision for strengthening the family’ , placed the ‘traditional family’ at the centre of state policy and treats ‘gender ideology’ as a major threat to the family.

GoFor and human rights organisations regard these actions as state-directed discrimination and a further erosion of civil society’s scope for action. The targeted scrutiny of foreign funding is particularly relevant in this context: to date, there is no formal ‘foreign agent’ law in Türkiye. Critics, however, observe a de facto application of such mechanisms, whereby foreign funding is used as grounds for suspicion against civil society organisations. GoFor has long pointed out that youth organisations are reliant on international funding due to their limited financial resources, and that foreign funding can, at the same time, lead to increased state control[4].

Özge Erdoğan, Deputy Chair of the German Federal Youth Council:
“It is unacceptable that young people and human rights defenders in Türkiye are being silenced through arrests and repression. We stand in solidarity with GoFor, its member organisations and all young people, as well as everyone who campaigns for LGBTQIA+ rights and other human rights. We join GoFor in calling for the immediate release of those detained. Young people and their organisations need free spaces in which to get involved and help shape society – these spaces must be protected.”

The independent Turkish youth council GoFor has been campaigning for democracy, human rights and the participation of young people in Türkiye since its foundation ten years ago. The DBJR stands firmly alongside its partner youth council GoFor and the young people in Türkiye who are campaigning for democracy, freedom and human rights.

The current events must also be viewed against the backdrop of the long-standing and increasing pressure on LGBTQIA+ organisations and other civil society actors in Türkiye. They clearly demonstrate how the scope for civil society action is narrowing when organisations come under political pressure, international funding becomes the subject of state investigations, digital communication spaces are restricted and representatives of organisations are arrested.

[1] Tagesschau24, 14 September 2026, available online at: https://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/tuerkei-razzien-102.html

[2] The Associated Press, 13 September 2026, “Turkish authorities launch crackdown on LGBTQ+ and HIV support groups”, available online at: https://apnews.com/article/turkey-lgbtq-hiv-crackdown-c782f5318613126fe072d29133e6bf5d

[3] European Commission, November 2025, “Turkey Report 2025”, available online at: enlargement.ec.europa.eu/turkiye-report-2025_en?

[4] GoFor, November 2024, ‘4th Cycle of the Universal Periodic Review of the Republic of Türkiye. Stakeholder Report.’, available online at: https://go-for.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/UPR-Stakeholder-Report.pdf