Turkish authorities have jailed 172 people in İstanbul pending trial over demonstrations sparked by the arrest and suspension from office of Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, the Turkish president’s strongest political rival, the TR724 news website reported on Tuesday.
A total of 208 people were referred to İstanbul’s criminal courts on Monday, including protestors, journalists and opposition party members. Of those, 172 were formally arrested, 29 were released under judicial supervision, six were put under house arrest and one was released without conditions. They face accusations of “refusing to disperse after warnings” during unauthorized gatherings, according to the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office.
Among those arrested are Left (SOL) Party members Yağmur Gündoğan, Utku Özay, Ufuk Demirbilek and Fatih Atlay, along with six officials from the Communist Party of Turkey (TKP) and a member of the Labor Youth Movement’s central committee. Journalists under arrest include Agence France-Presse’s Yasin Akgül, NOW TV reporter Ali Onur Tosun, Kurtuluş Arı of the İstanbul Municipality, Zeynep Kuray, Hayri Tunç, Gökhan Kam and Bülent Kılıç.
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said that since March 19, when İmamoğlu was first detained, 1,418 people have been taken into custody nationwide for protesting. On Sunday İmamoğlu and two other district mayors from Şişli and Beylikdüzü were arrested and suspended from office. The protests, reminiscent of the 2013 Gezi Park unrest, have since spread to over 55 of the country’s 81 provinces.
Despite bans on public gatherings in İstanbul, Ankara and İzmir, demonstrations have continued. Yerlikaya also said 43 people were among the detainees Monday night for allegedly insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his family during the protests.
Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) Chairman Özgür Özel, who addressed crowds in Saraçhane on Tuesday night, slammed the government, saying: “Imagine a government that, in the year 2025, has filled up its prisons by jailing students, journalists and those demanding democracy in one of the world’s most well-known metropolises. Shame on such a regime!”
CHP İstanbul lawmaker Sezgin Tanrıkulu made a statement in front of the police station alongside the families of arrested students.
“The families are here, all deeply upset and angry. Their children, the light of their eyes, are now caught in an uncertain process. They were taken into custody and are now under arrest. They were subjected to ill-treatment before and during detention. Some have broken legs, some are injured. In that condition, they are now waiting to be transferred to prison,” he said, condemning the situation.