Journalists have been arrested in their homes as part of a crackdown on the largest protests Turkey has seen in more than a decade, triggered by the arrest of president Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s main political rival.
Despite a ban on street gatherings in many cities, hundreds of thousands assembled to protest for a sixth consecutive night on Monday, after Istanbul’s mayor Ekrem Imamoglu was formally arrested and detained pending trial on corruption charges – which he denies.
His arrest has been widely interpreted as a political attempt to remove a major challenger to Mr Erdogan ahead of the 2028 presidential election, causing Turkey’s stock market to suffer its greatest hit since the 2008 financial crisis amid condemnation from Ankara’s European neighbours.
A total of 1,133 people have been detained and up to 123 police officers injured in protests since Mr Imamoglu was arrested, Turkey’s interior minister Ali Yerlikaya said, claiming that police had also seized acid, firebombs and knives.
At least 10 journalists have been detained so far, the Journalists Union of Turkey said on Monday, with many also “subjected to police violence, tear gas and plastic bullets while reporting” on protests which Mr Erdogan has sought to condemn as a “movement of violence”. Nine were reportedly arrested in dawn raids at their homes.
Attempts were also made to prevent television channels from broadcasting live, the union said, while social media platform X said it was objecting to multiple court orders from Turkish authorities to block more than 700 accounts – including those of news organisations, journalists and political figures in Turkey.
Calling for the journalists’ immediate release, the Disk-Basin-Is media workers’ union accused Turkish authorities of an “attack on press freedoms and the people’s right to learn the truth”.
Mr Imamoglu was elected mayor of Turkey’s largest city in March 2019, in a major blow to Mr Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party (AKP), which had controlled Istanbul for 25 years.
While Mr Erdogan’s party pushed to void the election results, alleging irregularities, Mr Imamoglu went on to win a repeat of the election several months later. He retained his seat in local elections last year, which saw the CHP make significant gains against Mr Erdogan’s party.
Mr Imamoglu has now been jailed on suspicion of running a criminal organisation, accepting bribes, extortion, illegally recording personal data and bid-rigging – accusations he has denied. A request for him to be imprisoned on terror-related charges was rejected although he still faces prosecution.
He was taken to Silivri prison, west of Istanbul, as more than 1.7 million members of his opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) held a primary election, endorsing him as its presidential candidate. Millions of non-members also cast votes in a “solidarity ballot”, the party said.
As well as appealing his arrest, CHP official said on Monday that the party was also appealing a decision by the Istanbul University to annul Mr Imamoglu’s diploma – which is required for eligibility in a presidential run.
Alongside Mr Imamoglu, 47 other people were also jailed pending trial, including a key aide and two district mayors from Istanbul. One was replaced with a government appointee. A further 44 suspects were released under judicial control.
Authorities were also investigating the office of Ankara’s mayor, another popular opposition figure, over the alleged misuse of public funds concerning the organisation of 33 concerts, the municipality said on Monday.
Addressing demonstrators outside city hall for a sixth consecutive night, CHP leader Ozgur Ozel challenged Mr Erdogan and the Istanbul chief public prosecutor to broadcast Mr Imamoglu’s trial live on state television, to allow the jailed mayor to respond to the allegations and “expose their lies”.
And he personally challenged Mr Erdogan to a televised debate – while calling on protesters to maintain public order and avoid clashes, along with boycotting a number of pro-government companies and television stations.
“Whoever Tayyip Erdogan unjustly puts in jail, this square is defending them, for democracy and for Turkey,” said Mr Ozel, as crowds waved flags and chanted slogans calling for the government to resign.
Ahead of Mr Ozel’s address, at the historic Galata Bridge in Istanbul, a sit-in protest blocked traffic on both sides of the bridge, while others gathered elsewhere in the city, in Ankara, and other cities.
Some 15 minutes after Mr Ozel addressed the crowd, police intervened with tear gas, water cannon and plastic pellets to disperse the demonstrators.
Speaking after a cabinet meeting in Ankara, Mr Erdogan claimed the CHP should stop “provoking” citizens.
“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 operation turned into a movement of violence,” the 71-year-old president 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.”
Rights groups and European countries warned that Mr Imamoglu’s arrest marked democratic backsliding and criticised police intervention, with Germany warning that it made Turkey’s pursuit of EU membership – which Ankara has targeted for decades – “increasingly hollow”.
A meeting of the EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee was postponed on Monday after the EU side said it had “concluded that current circumstances are not conducive” to holding the meeting.
And Mr Erdogan sought to reassure investors on Monday who last week sold off Turkish assets following news of Imamoglu’s detention – prompting the central bank to intervene with foreign currency sales and other stabilising measures after the markets and lira currency tumbled.
“Our main priority is protecting macro-financial stability,” said Mr Erdogan. “The Treasury and finance ministry, central bank, all relevant institutions, with our support, are working day and night in full coordination, taking every necessary step.”
The Istanbul bourse benchmark index pared back some losses on Monday after suffering a fall of 16.6 per cent last week – its worst drop since the global financial crisis.
