Turkish authorities launched one of the country's most extensive crackdowns on LGBTQ+ communities in recent memory, carrying out coordinated raids on advocacy organisations, private homes, nightclubs and bars across multiple cities, and detaining more than 70 activists and journalists, before arresting scores more who took to the streets in protest.

Starting in the early hours of Sunday, police simultaneously raided the offices of LGBTQ+ rights groups and HIV-advocacy organisations in Istanbul, the capital Ankara, the Aegean coastal city of İzmir, and the cities of Aydın and Mersin. Video released by the interior ministry showed officers rummaging through filing cabinets, seizing rainbow flags and leading people away in handcuffs. Prosecutors in Istanbul said authorities confiscated digital equipment, drugs and a firearm. In total, investigations were opened against 162 individuals, nine organisations and 13 businesses. Around 62 people were placed in pre-trial detention, including seven board members of Kaos GL, one of Turkey's oldest LGBTQ+ advocacy groups, which also runs a news site. Journalist Tuğba Tekerek was arrested at her home in Istanbul and transferred to Ankara for questioning after publishing a report on the LGBTQ+ community in neighbouring Georgia. A cameraman working for the German public broadcaster ARD's Istanbul bureau was also briefly detained during subsequent protests.

Justice Minister Akın Gürlek framed the operation — named