Hundreds of thousands of people join the growth of the Protest of Istanbul – DW – 03/29/2025

Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators gathered in Istanbul for a mass rally called by the main people of the people of the Republican of the opposition of Turkey (CHP) against the imprisonment of the mayor and the best figure of the city of the city Ekrem Imamoglu.

The arrest of Imamoglu on March 19 concerning accusations of contested corruption and terrorism sparked one of the largest street demonstrations against President Rece Tayyip Erdogan. The opposition figure would be the only Turkish politician capable of challenging Erdogan in a presidential election.

Imamoglu was re -elected in a resounding way as mayor of Istanbul for the third time last year. The CHP has now appointed him as a race candidate despite his detention.

The party, the rights for the defense of rights and Western governments all believe that its arrest and its continuous detention are politically motivated, while anger at its arrest, which began in Istanbul, quickly spread through Turkey.

What happened during the demonstrations?

Protesters gathered in Malttepe on the Asian side of Istanbul, waving Turkish flags and banners for rally “Liberty for Imamoglu” organized by the CHP.

The chief of the CHP, Ozgur Ozel, who organized the rally, said that 2.2 million people had joined the demonstration, but it was not possible to independently confirm the figure.

Ozel said the charges against the mayor were baseless and politically motivated, and the CHP called for a boycott of media, brands and stores which, they say, are pro-Erdogan.

Imamoglu, meanwhile, addressed the crowd in a letter of reading, calling for unity against his “illegal” arrest.

“I am not at all afraid. Because our dear nation is united,” he wrote in his high security cell in Marmara prison in Istanbul. “We will not bow before tyranny. From my endless cell, I cry: the nation is great.”

“With each movement he makes against me, Erdogan shows that he is someone who fled from the elections and is afraid of his opponent,” continued the letter.

Some demonstrators have been seen aboard the ferries crossing the Bosphorus, singing “everywhere is Taksim, the resistance is everywhere,” reported the French AFP news agency, citing one of its correspondents. The songs concern the massive events of 2013 centered in the iconic Taksim Square.

An Sans Name -Name of the CHP told the news agency in Reuters: “The tendency of economy, justice, law – any empire. That is why we are here. *

The CHP has promised to maintain demonstrations until Imamoglu is released and authorized to run in what the party hopes to be early elections.

The repression against journalists persists in the midst of demonstrations

Hundreds of thousands of Turks on a national scale joined demonstrations since Imamoglu was detained last week, then imprisoned while waiting for the trial.

The demonstrations were mainly peaceful, but nearly 2,000 people were detained. Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said this week 260 people had been imprisoned pending trial from Thursday.

Erdogan, who has dominated Turkish politics for more than two decades, rejected demonstrations as a “show” and called the CHP to stop “provoking” Turks.

The authorities have continued to suppress the media coverage of the protest movement. On Thursday, a Swedish journalist was arrested upon arrival at the airport before being officially imprisoned on Friday.

Joakim Medin had proved to be in the country to cover the demonstrations, told AFP of his employer, etc. dagens, etc. The Swedish media said its expenses were not immediately clear, but the Anadolu agency in Turkey said it was detained to “insult the president” and belong to a “terrorist organization”.

“I know that these accusations are false, 100% false,” wrote the editor -in -chief of Dagens etc, Andreas Gustavsson on X.

The Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer, Sternergard, said that Stockholm took “seriously the arrest of Medin”.

Some 13 Turkish journalists were arrested in five days. Eleven was released Thursday, including AFP photographer Yasin Akgul.

The authorities also expelled the BBC correspondent Mark Lowen, on the grounds that he posed “a threat to public order”, after hearing it for 17 hours.

Published by: Sean Sinico, Roshni Majumdar