POLICE detained dozens of demonstrators who staged a protest outside Caglayan courthouse in Istanbul on Tuesday to demand the release of LGBT+ activists taken into custody during a sweeping crackdown days earlier.

On Sunday, Turkish authorities cracked down on multiple LGBT+ groups and individuals, detaining dozens of members, breaking into association offices and raiding popular hangouts. 

The organisations’ websites were also blocked.

Justice Minister Akin Gurlek claimed the crackdown aimed to “protect children, the institution of the family, and public order.”

He said the operation, dubbed “My Family is Safe,” targeted 162 suspects, nine associations and 13 businesses.

On Tuesday, Michael O’Flaherty, the Strasbourg, France-based Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights, expressed concerns over the raids and detentions, saying “mere references to ‘family values’ or ‘protection of children’ cannot serve as legal justification for human rights restrictions.”

He added: “I call on the Turkish authorities to release anyone detained for engaging in human rights or civil society work.”

Outside the courthouse, demonstrators carried banners reading: “Being LGBT+ and organising is not a crime” and chanted slogans in support of LGBT+ rights before police intervened.

One of the protesters, Banu Aslan, said: “We are going through a period where there is an attempt by the ruling power to portray LGBT+ people as the cause of every problem in this society.”