Huge crowds gathered outside İstanbul City Hall on Saturday for a fourth night of protests over the detention of Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, who told police the allegations against him were “immoral and baseless,” according to a statement released by City Hall.
The protests, which began Wednesday in İstanbul, have spread to more than 55 of Turkey’s 81 provinces, triggering violent clashes with riot police in what observers describe as the country’s worst street unrest in more than a decade.
İmamoğlu’s detention came just days before the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) was expected to formally name him as its candidate in the 2028 presidential election.
Following a night in which organizers said 300,000 people demonstrated in İstanbul, similar numbers gathered again on Saturday. The boulevard outside City Hall was filled with red Turkish flags and banners reading “Dictators are cowards.”
On the fringes of the demonstration, protesters again clashed with riot police, who used tear gas, rubber bullets, pepper spray and percussion grenades, AFP correspondents reported.
Roughly 10 kilometers (six miles) away, about 1,000 people gathered outside the Çağlayan Courthouse, where prosecutors were questioning İmamoğlu in connection with ongoing investigations. Police deployed some 20 riot control vehicles and set up a tight perimeter, while protesters nearby chanted, “Shoulder to shoulder against fascism!”
‘Baseless and immoral’
Earlier in the day, the 53-year-old mayor was questioned for five hours by police. In a statement released through City Hall, he called the charges “immoral and baseless.”
“This process has not only harmed Turkey’s international reputation but has also shattered the public’s sense of justice and trust in the economy,” he said.
News of his detention sent the Turkish lira tumbling and rattled financial markets, with the BIST 100 index closing nearly 8 percent lower on Friday.
“We are here today to stand up for the candidate we voted for,” said 30-year-old Aykut Cenk outside the courthouse, holding a Turkish flag. “Just as people took to the streets for Erdoğan after the July 15, 2016 coup attempt, we are now taking to the streets for İmamoğlu.”
“We are not enemies of the state,” he said. “But what’s happening is unlawful.”
Journalists ‘targeted’
The unrest has continued despite a ban on protests in Turkey’s three largest cities and a warning from President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan that authorities would not tolerate what he called “street terror.”
“For four days, they have been doing everything they can to disturb the peace and divide our people,” Erdoğan said Saturday. “The days when politics and justice are guided by street terror are in the past.”
İstanbul Governor Davut Gül said the city would block anyone from entering or leaving if they were suspected of planning to participate in “illegal activities.”
Since the protests began, police have detained 343 people, the Interior Ministry said Friday.
Turkey’s Journalists Union said police had “deliberately targeted” journalists during the demonstrations, alleging that many were “severely beaten, shot with rubber bullets and had their equipment broken.”
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemned the “heavy-handed and completely arbitrary” violence, calling for those responsible to be held accountable.
Despite İmamoğlu’s detention, the CHP has vowed to move forward with its internal primary on Sunday, where it is expected to formally nominate him as its presidential candidate. The party said voting would be open to the public — not just party members —in an effort to show widespread support.
Observers say the government may attempt to block the vote.
© Agence France-Presse