Turkey arrests dozens in anti-LGBT+ crackdown, shuts down hundreds of social media accounts

Authorities in Turkey arrested dozens of journalists and LGBTQ+ activists under obscenity charges. Meanwhile, hundreds of social media accounts were shut down as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan touts the crackdown as being necessary to increase the country’s birth rate.“This is the widest crackdown on LGBTQ+ people in recent years,” Emma Sinclair-Webb, a spokesperson for Human Rights Watch, told The Guardian.International reports place arrest estimates between 60 and 150 people in the latest crackdown on LGBTQ+ activities, marketed by the government as the “My Family is Safe” campaign.Related: Egypt turns away cruise ship with mostly gay men after Turkey blocked same voyage from dockingStarting on Sunday, Sept. 13, the government reportedly started conducting raids, not only on LGBTQ+ night clubs and activist organizations but on HIV advocacy groups. The Turkish Interior Ministry released footage itself of authorities rummaging through filing cabinets and seizing rainbow flags from desks.The raids occurred in Turkey’s capital city of Ankara and in the country’s largest metropolis, Istanbul. They also targeted journalists including Tuğba Tekerek, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. Tekerek was formally arrested on Sept. 15 after writing a news article for the advocacy organization KAOS GL. Tekerek has been a professional reporter and had allegedly written a single article for the LGBTQ organization’s news portal. She now faces obscenity charges related to a news article about elections in Georgia.Related: Istanbul celebrates Pride despite ban and arrestsMeanwhile, courts in Istanbul have ordered more than 400 social media accounts be shut down over pro-LGBTQ+ content, according to Balkan Insight.The state-run Anadolu Agency announced the national Cyber Crimes Investigation Bureau and Istanbul Police had conducted an investigation supposedly intended to protect families. That resulted in access to at least 419 accounts becoming