On Mar. 24, Turkish authorities arrested 1,133 people in protests sparked by the jailing of Istanbul’s mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, President Erdogan’s biggest rival, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said.
Imamoglu was formally arrested on corruption charges on Mar. 23, and was sentenced to jail soon after. He was sent to Silivri prison, just west of Istanbul. His sentencing led to the country’s largest mass demonstrations in over ten years.
Since the protests started on Mar. 19, hundreds of thousands of angered citizens marched across Turkish cities, defying bans on street gatherings. Thousands corralled outside Istanbul’s city hall to shout their dissent against Imamoglu’s arrest.
“I think it can’t get any worse than this,” one female demonstrator, whose identity was made anonymous, said. “We will never accept this. If necessary, I will come every day.”
“There is a coup against our democracy right now,” another protester said. “We are here for our children, for the youth. We want them to be free so this country can be more beautiful.”
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Police reported that violence had occurred, with 123 police officers injured during the protests. In response, authorities fired water cannons, tear gas, pepper spray and plastic pellets to quell the protesters. While the citizens fought back with stones, fireworks and other objects, police have also seized acid, firebombs and knives.
Those arrested since the uprising began were charged for breaking the ban on protests. Istanbul was also closed off over the weekend to deal with them. According to Yerlikaya, 43 protesters were detained for “vile insults” toward Erdogan and his late mother, the Associated Press (AP) reported.
Imamoglu’s Republican People’s Party (CHP) — the main opposition party — encouraged the protests against his arrest; an act they deemed “politicised and undemocratic,” the AP wrote.
Ali Mahir Basarir, legislator of the CHP, told the AP that “predetermined provocateurs” were used as a pretext for the arrests.
“They start attacking the protesters before the rally is over,” he said. “All they want is a good future. They are exercising their constitutional rights.
Among those apprehended were nine journalists sent to report on the unrest across the cities, the Journalists’ Union of Turkey said. One of them is a staff photographer for Agence France Presse (AFP), the union added. It is unclear why the journalists were detained.
Rejecting the charges slapped upon him, Imamoglu called them “unimaginable accusations and slanders,” requesting that the protests should continue.
“We are facing great tyranny,” he said in a video on social media before his arrest. “But I want you to know that I will not be discouraged.”
Imamoglu’s arrest
Since 2019, Imamoglu has maintained his position as mayor of Istanbul against candidates chosen by Erdogan himself. Recently, Imamoglu was officially nominated as a presidential candidate by the CHP for the 2028 elections.
On Mar. 19, however, the mayor was arrested after police searched his home, slapping him with detention warrants. One hundred others were also arrested, including Imamoglu’s aide, Murat Ongun.
This arrest came after much criticism and losses were inflicted on Erdogan’s administration.
Though Erdogan denies the arrest was a political move, many believe otherwise, suggesting that Imamoglu was the president’s greatest rival.
Adem Bali, a construction worker, believes the arrest was “an injustice committed against Imamoglu.”
“They put the man in prison for no reason,” he said.
Cigdem Tatlica, unemployed, expressed her belief that there is no justice in Turkey. “This system cannot go on like this,” she said.
Speaking at a demonstration in Istanbul’s Sarachane district, in front of the municipality building, CHP leader Ozgur Ozel stated on Sunday that they would continue protesting until Imamoglu was freed.
Erdogan’s response
According to Reuters, Erdogan said on Mar. 24 that the protests over Imamoglu’s jailing was a “movement of violence.” He held the CHP responsible for inciting unrest and injuring several police officers.
“As a nation, we followed with surprise the events that emerged after the main opposition leader’s call to take to the streets following an Istanbul-based corruption turned into a movement of violence,” he said.
“The main opposition is responsible for our [injured] police officers, the broken windows of our shopkeepers, and the damaged public property. They will be held accountable for all this, politically in parliament and legally by the judiciary.”
He has denied that the arrest was politically motivated, adding that the courts were independent.
Omer Celik, the spokesperson for Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AK), stated on Monday that the CHP’s call for protests was an attempt to distract from the opposition’s failures.
“Democratic protest is a [fundamental] right, but the language used by the CHP is not the language of democratic protest,” Celik said.
Yerlikaya blamed some protesters for “terrorising” the cities, while others had taken advantage of “the right to assemble.”
“Some circles have been exploiting the right to assemble and demonstrate, attempting to disrupt public order, incite street unrest and attack our police,” he said.
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