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Hundreds of thousands of protesters gathered in Istanbul for a mass rally called by Turkey’s Main Opposition Republican Party (CHP) against the arrest of the city’s mayor and top figure Ekrem Imamoglu.
The March 19 arrest of IMOGLU on corruption charges sparked one of the largest street demonstrations against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan . The opposition figure is believed to be the only Turkish politician capable of challenging Erdogan in a presidential election.
The CHP has nominated him as a candidate for the race despite his detention. The party, rights groups and Western governments believe his arrest and continued detention are politically motivated.
What happened at the protests?
Protesters gathered in Maltepe on the Asian side of Istanbul, waving Turkish flags and banners for the “freedom for imamoglu” rally organized by CHP.
CHP leader Ozgur Ozel, who organized the rally, said 2.2 million people joined the protest, but it was not possible to independently confirm the number.
Ozel said the accusations against the mayor were unfounded and politically motivated, and the CHP called for a boycott of media outlets, brands and stores it says are pro-Erdogan.
Meanwhile, Imamoglu addressed the crowd in a reading letter, calling for unity against his “illegal” arrest.
“I am not afraid of anything. Because our dear nation is united,” he wrote from his high-security cell in Istanbul’s Marmara prison. “We will not bow to tyranny. From my endless cell, I cry: the nation is great.”
“With every move he makes against me, Erdogan shows that he is someone who runs away from elections and is afraid of his opponent,” the letter continued.
Some protesters were seen on board ferries crossing the Bosphorus chanting “everywhere is Taksim, resistance is everywhere,” France’s AFP news agency reported, citing one of its correspondents. The chants are about the huge 2013 protests centered on the iconic Taksim Square.
An unnamed CHP supporter told Reuters News Agency: “The trend of the economy, of justice, of law – everything is getting worse. That’s why we are here.”
Crackdown on journalists persists amid protests
Hundreds of thousands of Turks across the country have joined protests since Imamoglu was detained last week and then jailed awaiting trial on graft charges.
The demonstrations were mostly peaceful, but nearly 2,000 people were detained. Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said 260 people had been arrested this week pending trial as of Thursday.
Erdogan, who has dominated Turkish politics for more than two decades, dismissed the protests as a “show” and called on the CHP to stop “provoking” Turks.
Meanwhile, authorities have continued to crack down on media coverage of the protest movement. On Thursday, a Swedish journalist was detained upon arrival at the airport before being formally arrested on Friday.
Joakim Medin flew into the country to cover the protests, his employer, Dagens Etc., said. Swedish media outlets said his charges were not immediately clear, but Turkey’s Anadolu Agency said he was being held for “insulting the president” and belonging to a “terrorist organization.”
“I know these accusations are false, 100% false,” wrote Dagens etc. editor-in-chief Andreas Gustavsson in X.
Swedish Foreign Minister Malmer Stenergard said Stockholm was taking Medin’s arrest “seriously”.
Some 13 Turkish journalists have been arrested in five days. Eleven were released on Thursday, including AFP photographer Yasin Akgul.
Authorities also deported BBC correspondent Mark Lowen, claiming he posed “a threat to public order”, after holding him for 17 hours.