Turkiye mass protest: Thousands of demonstrators flooded the streets of Istanbul on Thursday in a powerful show of defiance following the arrest of the city's mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu. Widely viewed as a major opposition figure and potential challenger to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Imamoglu’s detention has sparked a political firestorm across Turkiye, news agency ANI reported citing France 24.
Authorities responded immediately to the unrest by shutting down several key roads, restricting access to popular social media platforms, and enforcing a four-day demonstration ban in an attempt to curb public gatherings. However, these measures did little to deter the crowd.
Protest outside Istanbul’s police headquarters
As per the report, protesters gathered in large numbers outside Istanbul’s police headquarters, the City Hall, and the central office of Imamoglu’s Republican People’s Party (CHP), voicing their anger and demanding justice. Protesters cried foul and said that the allegations were "unlawful" and "baseless", and said the arrest was a blow to democracy, as per France 24. "This is not democracy. It’s a sham of democracy. The people do not deserve this. We are upset of course. As humans, we are upset," he told France 24.
Who is Ekrem Imamoglu?
Riot police blocked off roads leading to the Vatan Security Department, where the mayor was taken following his arrest. Imamoglu is a popular opposition leader and the main rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. A total of 100 people, including the mayor and several other prominent figures, were arrested, France 24 reported.
Imamoglu and his aides are suspected of alleged corruption, including extortion and fraud, as well as aiding the Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK), an outlawed party classified as a terrorist organisation by Ankara, Washington and other Turkish allies. His arrest comes amid a broader crackdown on opposition figures, which has been slammed as politically motivated and an attempt to silence dissent. A day earlier, Istanbul University revoked the Mayor's bachelor degree, a requisite for running in elections under Turkish law.
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