Türkiye Releases Four Detainees, Including LGBT Rights Defenders

Four people arrested during September’s “My Family Is Safe” operation (Ailem Güvende) were released following a detention review in Mersin, southern Türkiye, on October 13, 2026. According to ÜniKuir, those released include LGBT rights defenders Tuna Şahin and Ece Yiğit.

The outlet reports that all LGBT activists remanded in custody in Mersin as part of this operation are now free. This concerns release from detention: the article does not report an acquittal or the closure of the case.

The releases were also confirmed by muzir.org, which identified Yiğit as a member of LGBT association 7 Renk. In a letter conveyed through lawyers before her release, she rejected allegations of violating the Law on Associations and providing premises for prostitution.

News agency DHA previously reported that 36 people were detained in September in the Mersin-led investigation: 28 were remanded in custody and eight released under judicial supervision. Investigators linked the operation to suspected dissemination of obscene material, facilitation of prostitution and coercion into prostitution. The agency did not specify which allegations applied to each detainee.

Uránia previously reported on the start of the operation and the blocking of LGBT resources in Türkiye. The September investigation affected several regions; the latest release report concerns the Mersin part of the operation.