A huge crowd of demonstrators gathered in Istanbul on Saturday for a mass demonstration against the arrest of the opposition chief Ekrem İmaMoğlu.
İMamoğlu was arrested last week for accusations of corruption and expelled his office as mayor of Istanbul. Largely considered to be the main challenger by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, İmaMoğlu, was officially appointed on Monday as presidential candidate.
His arrest sparked a week of demonstrations in the country. The Turkish authorities have accelerated a repression against the opposition, locking more than a thousand demonstrators and holding journalists.
Özgür Özel, the leader of the main party of the Republican People (CHP) who organized the demonstration on Saturday, said on X that there were 2.2 million people in the crowd. Özel told French Outlet The world He planned to convene regular Saturday rallies across the country, with additional events organized in Istanbul every Wednesday.
This week, the European Commission urged Ankara to “maintain democratic values”.
