Several thousand Turkish students protested on Tuesday in İstanbul and Ankara, reviving demonstrations after the March 19 detention of İstanbul’s opposition mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu by authorities.
The campaign of protests — the biggest to grip Turkey since 2013 — had dipped over the past 10 days with the closure of universities and celebrations marking the end of Ramadan.
On the Asian side of İstanbul, several thousand students were seen rallying in images broadcast by Turkish media, which also showed a major police deployment.
In the capital Ankara, hundreds of university students also marched, according to media reports and images shared on social media.
İmamoğlu is the chief political rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. His detention and subsequent arrest last month set off the wave of mass protests that the government has robustly cracked down on, detaining nearly 2,000 people, including hundreds of students.
The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) made İmamoğlu its candidate for the 2028 presidential election.
It has also encouraged a boycott movement against companies and businesses seen close to the Turkish government.
CHP leader Özgür Özel is seeking to have more protests spiring up in different Turkish cities and called for another mass demonstration late Wednesday in İstanbul.
© Agence France-Presse