Turkish officials said police in this country detained 47 people in a series of raids on gay bars and hangouts and on the homes of LGBTQ rights activists.

The police operation was carried out over the last weekend and in 12 provinces of Turkey, as part of a campaign titled “My family is safe”; a campaign that the Turkish government says is designed to protect family values.

The Turkish Human Rights Association says the government of this country has used this campaign in recent years to target the LGBTQ community.

One of the targets of the recent police operation was an LGBTQ rights association named Kaos GL.

The Ankara prosecutor’s office, in a separate statement, announced that 21 other people had been detained as part of an investigation into this association.

Police said that, in total, 50 activists were detained and that more than 10 of them were arrested after the police raided their homes.

Kaos GL says that the authorities have blocked several websites and social media accounts linked to LGBTQ organizations. 📷Reuters