Over 1,100 people, including journalists, arrested in Turkey amid protests over Istanbul mayor’s arrest

The detention of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan's main political rival, Mayor Imamoglu last Wednesday, has triggered protests across Turkey.

By: Express Web Desk

Updated: March 24, 2025 10:11 PM IST

3 min read

Riot police officers clash with protesters during a protest after Istanbul's Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu was arrested and sent to prison, in Istanbul, Turkey. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

In a major crackdown by the Turkish government, about 1,133 people, including journalists, have been detained since the start of protests five days ago against the detention of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, reports claimed.

The detention of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s main political rival, Mayor Imamoglu last Wednesday, has triggered one of the largest protests across Turkey in a decade.

Mayor Imamoglu was jailed on Sunday after a court’s order in a corruption case, whose trial is pending and the mayor has denied all the charges leveled against him.

University students shout slogans during a protest at Besiktas district in Istanbul, Turkey, after Istanbul’s Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu was arrested and sent to prison. The poster reads in English and Turkish: “I don’t know about you but I’m feeling ‘revolution’ tonight!”. (AP Photo/Huseyin Aldemir)

According to The Guardian report, a journalist was arrested by Turkish authorities while covering the protests outside the Istanbul city hall, while nine others were detained by the authorities in morning raids.
https://twitter.com/RTErdogan/status/1903537163050127498
It wasn’t immediately clear why the journalists were detained by Turkish authorities. As per Reuters, a staff photographer of news agency Agence France Presse (AFP) is among the detained journalists.

Also Read | Why a mayor’s arrest has led to thousands of people protesting in Turkey

Mayor Imamoglu’s party, Republican People’s Party (CHP) which is the main opposition, has been calling for protests against the decision of the court to arrest the mayor, and the CHP has alleged that the arrest is “politicised and undemocratic”.

According to President Erdogan’s ruling AK Party’s spokesperson Omer Celik, the call for protests by the CHP is a way to cover-up the shortcomings of the opposition. Democratic protest is a (fundamental) right, but the language used by the CHP is not the language of democratic protest,” Celik said.

As CHP held a primary election to name Mayor Imamoglu the presidential candidate, he was arrested by the authorities and jailed pending a corruption trial. About 15 million votes were cast in favour of the mayor.

Story continues below this ad

The Turkish interior minister, Ali Yerlikaya confirmed that 1,133 people have been detained in the past five days, and many of those detained were arrested for trespassing a ban on protests across Istanbul.

From the homepage