Turkish prosecutors opened proceedings against 162 people, 9 associations and 13 companies in 15 provinces on September 13. The Operation “My household Is Safe” included LGBT environments and amusement venues. The charges concern, among another things, the obsceneness and facilitation of prostitution, but the blame of suspects can only be decided by courts.
The operation included 5 main centres
The activities coordinated prosecutors in Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Aydın and Mersina, and were carried out together in 15 provinces. Minister of Justice Akın Gürlek stated that 162 persons, 9 associations and 13 companies were active in the proceedings. This number means persons covered by legal acts and not the number of convicted or even all detainees.
By information from the Turkish agency of Anadol investigations concern suspicions of creating organisations for the intent of committing crimes, prostitution, obsceneness and possession or acquisition of drugs for individual use. The Istanbul Prosecutor's Office besides claims that it collected material on the impact on minors on sexual orientation and sex identity issues. These are claims by law enforcement authorities which must be assessed in judicial proceedings.
Sixteen people arrested in Izmir
W Izmir was detained 18 suspects of 24 persons subject to detention decisions. On 14 September, the court arrested 16 people, and 2 were released under judicial control. Six more suspects were wanted. In this thread, investigators point to the publication of content deemed obscene and the suspicion of encouraging prostitution, brokering or sharing a place.
Homosexuality is not a crime in Turkey. The subject of formal proceedings are so concrete alleged acts, not sexual orientation itself. That's the line the state of law has to keep. The protection of children and families is the legitimate work of the authorities, but even the legitimate goal does not release the prosecution from presenting evidence against each individual separately.
Protest in court and police response
On 15 September, protestors gathered before the Çağlayan Court in Istanbul. Police declared the assembly illegal, surrounded the participants and made detentions. Kresy.pl portal, citing the French regular "Le Monde", gave the number of 91 detainees. another subsequent accounts presented different numbers, so it is not appropriate to combine the participants in the protest with those in the first investigation.
The LGBT ideology dispute is real, as is the work to defend children from sexualisation. Equally real is the request to observe the freedom of assembly and the presumption of innocence. European experience shows that LGBT demonstration safety can be utilized in wider ideological disputes. All the more reason to separate criminal facts from political labels.
Family needs law, not show force.
Minister Gürlek linked the operation to the State Children's, household and Social Order Protection Programme. Turkish authorities present actions as part of president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's “Dekada household and Population”. Critics see in them the impact on freedom of association and expression.
Conservative household policy cannot trust on rhetoric alone. It must defend minors, prosecute prostitution and crime, while at the same time relying on individual responsibility. Also in the Polish debate, criticism of ideology does not give approval for illegal acts. Otherwise, the State weakens its credibility and gives the opponents an easy argument.
There is simply a clear lesson for Poland. Family, children and public order must be protected firmly, but with precise law, clear procedures and evidence judged by an independent court. Hardness without justice becomes a demonstration of strength. Justice without the protection of the weakest remains an empty slogan.
