Protests Erupt Across Turkey After Istanbul Mayor Arrested
More than 1,100 people have been detained so far in five days of protests in Turkey that erupted after the arrest of Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, who is a key rival and critical of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The demonstrations are the largest Turkey has seen since 2013. The latest rallies took place in at least 55 of Turkey’s 81 provinces, in defiance of bans on public gatherings.
Along with around 90 other people, Imamoglu was detained on 19 March by Turkish police on charges of corruption and allegedly aiding an outlawed political group—the Kurdistan Workers’ Party. Imamoglu was initially charged with corruption, bribery, and terrorism, with prosecutors claiming that the mayor led a criminal organization that engaged in systematic fraud, big-rigging, embezzlement, and bribery, Al Jazeera reported. The terrorism charges have since been dropped.
Imamoglu denied the charges, and his defenders claimed that the move was a political scheme to bar him from running against Erdogan. His arrest came days before he was expected to be nominated as the opposition party’s presidential candidate. Despite the arrest, Imamoglu was named as the Republican People’s Party’s official candidate for the 2028 presidential election following a symbolic vote yesterday. He called on Turks to hold mass demonstrations against his arrest. He called on youths to avoid clashes and asked police to treat demonstrators with kindness, according to the Associated Press (AP).
The same day as Imamoglu’s arrest, mass protests began in Turkey, and they have continued for five days so far. According to some estimates, more than 300,000 people joined in protests in Istanbul. The demonstrations were largely peaceful, but some protesters threw stones and flares at Turkish police, who responded with pepper spray, water cannons, and tear gas.
The Istanbul governor’s office announced it was expanding a ban on demonstrations until 26 March and imposed restrictions on the entry and exit of vehicles from the city deemed to be transporting people “likely to participate in unlawful activities,” NPR reported.
More than a thousand people have been detained since the protests began last week. Several journalists have also been detained by Turkish authorities.
In a lengthy social media post, Turkey’s interior minister, Ali Yerlikaya, said, “The terrorization of our streets and the threat to the peace and security of our nation will absolutely not be tolerated.” He claimed that the protests “abused” the right to demonstrate, accusing protesters of attempting to disrupt public order, according to the BBC.
