The European Union called on Turkey to "uphold democratic values" after police detained more than 1,100 people during five days of protests. The uprising was sparked by last week's arrest of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's main rival and mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu.
The demonstrations began in Istanbul after Ekrem Imamoglu's arrest last week on charges of "corruption" and "supporting a terrorist organisation".
The protests have since spread to more than 55 of Turkey's 81 provinces, sparking clashes with riot police and drawing international condemnation.
The popular 53-year-old Imamoglu has been widely seen as the only politician who could defeat Turkey's longtime leader Erdogan at the ballot box.
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In just four days he went from being the mayor of Istanbul – a post that launched Erdogan's political rise decades earlier – to being arrested, interrogated, jailed and stripped of the mayorship as a result of a graft and terror probe.
On Sunday, he was overwhelmingly voted in as the main opposition CHP's candidate for the 2028 presidential run, with the ballot – that was opened beyond the party's 1.7 million members – attracting 15 million votes.
A party spokesman on Monday confirmed his election as the party's candidate.
'Serious attack on democracy'
The developments in Turkey drew sharp condemnation from France and Germany.
The jailing of Ekrem Imamoglu and other political figures "constitutes a serious attack on democracy", a spokesman for France's foreign ministry said Sunday.
Noting that Turkey had said it would protect the rights of opposition politicians, the spokesman added: "The respect of these commitments is a central element of our relations as well as relations between Turkey and the European Union."
Germany said it was following developments with "great concern".
"The arrest and suspension of the mayor of Istanbul is totally unacceptable. This must be clarified very quickly and transparently," Chancellor Olaf Scholz's spokesman Steffen Hebestreit told a press conference.
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He said Germany had made "great efforts" to promote good ties between Turkey and the European Union.
"The latest developments are a bad sign for democracy in Turkey but also for the future development of these relations," Hebestreit said.
A foreign ministry spokesman said German officials had held talks with Turkey's envoy to Berlin.
"I can confirm... that a meeting with the Turkish ambassador took place this morning," Christian Wagner told the press conference.
Journalists among those arrested
Police have detained more than 1,133 people over "illegal activities" since the protests began Wednesday, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on X, saying they included "individuals affiliated with 12 different terrorist organisations".
Early Monday, Istanbul governor Davut Gul accused demonstrators of "damaging mosques and cemeteries", warning: "Any attempt to disrupt public order will not be tolerated," he wrote on X.
Faced with the massive protests, Turkey's authorities sought to shut down more than 700 accounts on X, the online platform said Sunday.
Early on Monday, police detained 10 Turkish journalists at home, including an AFP photographer, "for covering the protests", the MLSA rights group said in a statement.
It said most of them were covering the mass demonstrations outside City Hall, where tens of thousands rallied late Sunday, a move denounced by Imamoglu's wife.
"What is being done to members of the press and journalists is a matter of freedom. None of us can remain silent about this," wrote Dilek Kaya Imamoglu on X.
(with AFP)
