Joint statement on the new anti-lgbtiq+ legislation and the crackdown on human rights defenders in Türkiye
We stand in solidarity with Yıldız Tar, a Turkish journalist and human rights defender, and trans activist Erkin, who have been arbitrarily detained since February 18th, 2025, when Turkish Authorities arrested 52 journalists, human rights defenders, academicians and opposition figures in a mass police raid. We strongly condemn their unjust detention and demand their immediate and unconditional release. Tar’s arrest is part of a wider crackdown on press freedom and anti-LGBTIQ+ legislative changes in Türkiye, reflecting an alarming global trend of increasing repression against fundamental human rights and democracy.
Journalism is not a crime! LGBTIQ+ rights are human rights!
After the arrests, draft law proposals from the Turkish government were leaked, revealing intent to criminalize gender and sexual diversity and silencing LGBTIQ+ voices under the government’s “Year of the family” initiativeProposed amendments to the Civil Code and Penal Code seek to impose prison sentences on those who “act contrary to or encourage attitudes that contradict biological sex and public morality” and further restrict gender-affirming healthcare, creating a de facto ban on gender transition. Mandatory sterilization to change legal gender and ban on public LGBTIQ+ advocacy is among the proposed legal change. These amendments are designed to erase LGBTIQ+ people from public life, suppress advocacy, and legitimize state-backed discrimination.
The arrests of Yıldız Tar and Erkin and anti-LGBTIQ+ legislative proposals cannot be considered as isolated incidents. They are direct attacks on human rights, press freedom, and the right to exist. They further send a chilling message to all journalists, activists, and marginalized communities in Türkiye that freedom of expression will be met with repression. We live in a time when LGBTIQ+ rights and freedom of expression are under escalating threat worldwide and now more than ever, we must show solidarity.
We call on the Turkish authorities to:
Immediately and unconditionally release Yıldız Tar, Erkin and the other imprisoned human rights defenders and journalists
End the criminalization of LGBTI+ individuals and repeal discriminatory laws.
Cease the repression of press freedom, human rights defenders, and civil society organizations.
Respect their international human rights legal obligations, including those enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
#FreeYildizTar #LGBTIQRightsAreHumanRights #JournalismIsNotACrime