Turkey: Protests spread, defy ban for day 3 over Imamoglu's arrest
Protests across Turkey over the detention of Istanbul's mayor have swelled into the thousands for a third consecutive day, despite restrictions and bans on public demonstrations by some local authorities.
ANKARA — Demonstrators across Turkey defied protest bans on Friday night, with hundreds of thousands rallying at Istanbul City Hall and thousands more taking to the streets elsewhere to protest the detention of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu.
Imamoglu, a popular opposition figure and potential presidential contender against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was detained on Wednesday on terrorism and corruption charges. His arrest has sparked protests in dozens of provinces, with supporters from his Republican People’s Party (CHP) and other opposition groups viewing the move as politically motivated.
Despite the Istanbul governor’s office sealing off roads leading to City Hall earlier on Friday, crowds gathered for a third consecutive night, swelling into the hundreds of thousands in front of the building. Thousands more protested in other provinces, including in the capital, Ankara, and the Aegean port city of Izmir, where local officials had imposed a demonstration ban earlier that day.
Clashes erupted in some places between riot police and demonstrators. Security forces used pepper spray and water cannons to disperse crowds in Ankara and Izmir. Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said that 97 demonstrators were detained late Friday.
Protests also continued in dozens of other provinces, including the Mediterranean city of Adana and the Black Sea province of Trabzon, Imamoglu’s birthplace.
Of the more than 106 individuals for whom arrest warrants were issued on Wednesday as part of two separate corruption and terrorism investigations, 90 remain in custody, including Imamoglu. The Istanbul mayor is scheduled to be questioned by prosecutors on Saturday, following police interrogation on Friday. A court then will decide whether Imamoglu will be released or arrested, pending the outcome of trial.
Meanwhile, the number of individuals detained over social media posts since Wednesday rose to 91 as of Friday, according to a tally released by Yerlikaya. Access to social media platforms, including X, YouTube, Facebook and Instagram, remains restricted, according to UK-based internet watchdog NetBlocks.
Sixteen police officers were injured during clashes with protesters on Thursday night, Yerlikaya said.
Following Thursday’s overnight protests, the Istanbul Stock Exchange dropped by more than 6%, with trading halted twice. Turkey’s Central Bank is believed to have sold more than $5 billion in hard currency to stabilize the Turkish lira, which hit a record low against the dollar in the wake of Imamoglu’s detention.
CHP to hold convention
CHP leader Ozgur Ozel announced on Friday that the party will convene an extraordinary convention on April 6.
The decision comes amid widespread speculation that the government’s next move could be to appoint a trustee to the party, replacing Ozel, as part of a new prosecutorial probe launched into the CHP’s November 2023 convention over alleged irregularities.
“We hereby declare to all of Turkey that we have blocked any attempts to appoint a trustee by taking the party to an extraordinary convention,” Ozel said.
He also called on the public to participate in the CHP primary elections on Sunday, where Imamoglu is widely expected to be named the main opposition’s presidential candidate for the 2028 general elections.
Speculation about the appointment of a trustee intensified after a series of developments targeting the CHP. A day before Imamoglu’s detention, Istanbul University annulled his college degree, citing irregularities in his 1990 undergraduate transfer from a Turkish Cypriot university to its School of Business Administration. A valid college degree is a constitutional requirement for presidential candidates in Turkey.
Erdogan slams opposition
Main opposition leader Ozel came under fire from Erdogan and other government officials on Friday for calling on people to take to the streets earlier in the week.
“It is a grave irresponsibility [for Ozel] to point to the streets instead of courtrooms to defend theft, robbery, illegality and fraud,” Erdogan said in a televised speech from Istanbul. “Don’t forget, the street that the CHP leader is calling [you to] is a dead end.”
While Erdogan and government officials insist that the judiciary is independent and that there has been no interference in the investigation, Imamoglu’s detention is widely viewed by opposition figures and international organizations as being politically motivated.
European Union leaders expressed concern over the arrest, and international human rights watchdogs have called for Imamoglu’s immediate release.
“The mayor’s arbitrary detention undermines the rights of voters who elected him and the broader democratic process in Turkey,” Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said earlier this week. “Imamoglu and others detained should be released from police custody immediately.”
This article has been updated since its initial publication.
