Selin Berghan, a member of the Kaos GL Association’s supervisory board, has sent a message from prison following their arrest as part of the “My Family Is Safe” operations targeting LGBTI+ organizations and rights advocates.
In a message published by Kaos GL, Berghan said they viewed the imprisonment as part of the struggle for LGBTI+ rights:
I see this process as part of the struggle for gender freedom. I know this won’t be the first or the last price I pay for this struggle. Like the others, I bear this price as a badge of honor.
I send my güllüm* to all my friends with whom I’ve struggled together. They can’t take away our joy!
Kaos GL, an LGBTI+ advocacy group active since 1994, was among the organizations targeted in operations that began on Sep 13. Members of its executive and supervisory boards were arrested on obscenity charges.
News articles and other material published on the association’s website were cited as evidence for the charges.
From ‘public morality’ to ‘My Family Is Safe’: 20 years of repression against Kaos GL
More than 100 people were detained in the operations, including over 40 rights advocates, on allegations including "obscenity" and prostitution-related offenses. More than 80 were formally arrested.
LGBTI+ organizations in Turkey have faced increasing pressure, particularly since the government declared 2025 the “Year of the Family.” The latest operations have involved an unprecedented number of detentions and arrests.
*In slang used within Turkey's queer community, known as Lubunca, güllüm or gullüm means having a laugh, joking around and generally having a fun, lively time together.
(NÖ/VK)
