Turkish court orders closure of independent news site T24 over alleged LGBTQ propaganda
A Turkish court has shut down T24, a major independent news website, after the justice ministry claimed it published 118 items constituting LGBTQ propaganda over the past year. The closure, justified on grounds that T24 published content weakening the Turkish family structure, has drawn strong criticism from journalists' associations and the opposition. The decision reflects a broader government crackdown on the LGBTQ community that has included raids on gay venues and activists' homes.
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An Istanbul magistrates court has ordered the closure of T24's website and social media accounts following accusations of LGBTQ propaganda, the Turkish justice ministry announced. The shutdown occurred weeks after authorities launched a broader crackdown on the LGBTQ community, which included raids on gay bars and nightclubs as well as searches of activists' residences, resulting in warrants for 162 people.
The justice ministry stated that T24 had produced 118 pieces of content over the previous year that constituted LGBT propaganda as part of an investigation called "My Family is Safe." According to reporting by DW Türkçe, the court justified the closure by arguing that T24 had published content intended to weaken Turkish family structures. Buse Sogutlu, T24's foreign news desk editor, told AFP that the site had been blocked within Turkey by Wednesday afternoon and that it had recently experienced a social media harassment campaign. She characterized the closure as a significant setback for independent journalism that extended beyond the outlet's LGBTQ coverage.
The decision provoked sharp criticism from approximately a dozen Turkish journalists' associations and the main opposition party Yeni Parti, whose leader Özgür Özel condemned it as repression. T24, headquartered in Istanbul with a secondary office in Ankara and a staff of 40 people, ranks among Turkey's most prominent independent news outlets. Its closure has intensified concerns regarding press freedom and the government's treatment of LGBTQ rights.
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