ISTANBUL — Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu appeared earlier than police for questioning on terror-related fees on Saturday, a day after his interrogation over corruption allegations. His arrest this week has sparked widespread protests throughout Turkey, with demonstrators rallying in multiple cities to voice their opposition.
Inside Minister Ali Yerlikaya posted on social media that 343 suspects had been detained in protests in main cities on Friday night time, including “There can be no tolerance for individuals who search to violate societal order, threaten the individuals’s peace and safety, and pursue chaos and provocation.” The cities listed included Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Adana, Antalya, Çanakkale, Eskişehir, Konya and Edirne.
The mayor, who is a well-liked opposition determine and seen as a high challenger to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was detained on Wednesday following a dawn raid on his residence over allegations of economic crimes and hyperlinks to Kurdish militants. Dozens of different distinguished figures, together with two district mayors, had been additionally detained.
Many view the arrest as a politically pushed try and take away a preferred opposition determine and key challenger to Erdogan within the subsequent presidential race, presently scheduled for 2028. Authorities officers reject accusations that authorized actions towards opposition figures are politically motivated and demand that Turkey’s courts function independently.
On Friday, police questioned Imamoglu for 4 hours over the corruption accusations, throughout which he denied all the fees, Cumhuriyet newspaper and different media reported. He was anticipated to be transferred to a courthouse afterward Saturday for questioning by prosecutors and to face attainable fees.
His arrest has ignited protests which have steadily elevated in depth.
On Friday, police in Istanbul used pepper spray, tear gasoline and rubber bullets to push again a whole lot of protesters who tried to interrupt by way of a barricade in entrance of town’s historic aqueduct whereas hurling flares, stones and different objects at officers. Police additionally dispersed teams that had rallied outdoors of town corridor for a 3rd night time working, after the opposition Republican Individuals’s Occasion chief, Ozgur Ozel, delivered a speech in help of the mayor.
Concurrently, police broke up demonstrations in Ankara, the capital, in addition to within the Aegean coastal metropolis of Izmir, resorting to forceful measures at occasions, in accordance with tv photos. Hundreds marched in a number of different cities calling on the federal government to resign.
Earlier, Erdogan mentioned the federal government wouldn’t tolerate road protests and accused the opposition celebration of hyperlinks to corruption and terror organizations. Authorities in Ankara and Izmir in the meantime, introduced a five-day ban on demonstrations, following the same measure imposed earlier in Istanbul.
“An anti-corruption operation in Istanbul is getting used as an excuse to stir unrest in our streets. I would like it to be recognized that we’ll not permit a handful of opportunists to carry unrest to Turkey simply to guard their plundering schemes,” Erdogan mentioned.
Imamoglu’s arrest got here simply days earlier than he was anticipated to be nominated because the opposition Republican Individuals’s Occasion’s presidential candidate in a major on Sunday. Ozel has mentioned that the first, the place round 1.5 million delegates can vote, will go forward as deliberate.
The opposition celebration has additionally urged residents to take part in a symbolic election on Sunday — by way of improvised poll containers to be arrange throughout Turkey — to indicate solidarity with Imamoglu.
In a message posted on his social media account Saturday, Imamoglu described his arrest as a “coup” and accused the federal government of exploiting the judiciary and worsening the nation’s troubled financial system.
“Together with your help, we are going to first defeat this coup, after which we are going to ship packing those that triggered this,” he wrote on the social media platform X.
