Istanbul, March 24 (IANS) Turkish security forces have arrested over 1100 people, including several journalists, as protests against the detention of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, the arch-rival of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and a potential presidential election contender, have continued to intensify over the past five days in the historic city.
The Istanbul authorities on Monday also announced restrictions on entry and exit from the province amid the ongoing protests that erupted after Imamoglu was detained on March 19.
Country’s Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya emphasised that, according to Article 34 of the Constitution, “everyone has the right to organise unarmed and unaggressive meetings and demonstrations without prior permission,” but noted that this right is “restricted by law for the purposes of national security, public order, crime prevention, protection of public health and morality, or the rights and freedoms of others.”
The recent protests have gone beyond peaceful demonstrations, with certain groups abusing the right and attempting to exploit the situation to disrupt public order and attack law enforcement forces, the minister was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency.
“We invite our citizens to be careful against such provocations and to act with common sense,” he added.
Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency reported that Imamoglu faced accusations of “bribery, corruption, qualified fraud, illegally obtaining personal data for profit and tampering with a tender”. Imamoglu had been under interrogation in police custody at the Istanbul Police Headquarters since his detention on Wednesday, in connection with two investigations related to terrorism and corruption.
The Turkish government temporarily suspended Imamoglu from his duties as Mayor after an Istanbul court formally arrested him on Sunday, pending the outcome of his trial on corruption charges.
Imamoglu was re-elected for a second term as Mayor of Istanbul, Turkey’s largest city, after his decisive victory in the local elections held in 2024, over his rival Murat Kurum, a candidate from the ruling Justice and Development Party.
The popular 53-year-old has been widely seen as the only politician who could defeat Turkey’s longtime leader Erdogan at the ballot box. In just a few days, he went from being the Mayor of Istanbul to being arrested, interrogated, jailed, and stripped of his duties as Mayor as a result of a graft and terror probe.
Tens of thousands of Turks have taken to the streets across Turkey in largely peaceful demonstrations. Authorities tried to stifle demonstrations with a four-day ban on all gatherings in Istanbul, which was extended to Ankara and Izmir as the protests spread.
–IANS
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