The main opposition of Turkey has joined the defense of the mayor of Istanbul imprisoned, Ekrem İmamoğlu, in a decision to support the greatest anti-government demonstrations in years.
Hundreds of thousands of people attended the demonstration called by the leader of the Republican Popular Opposition (CHP) party in a place far from downtown Istanbul. Party leader Özgur Özel said 2.2 million people were present.
Earlier this week, Özel had called for night gatherings outside the town hall of Istanbul, where hundreds of thousands attended while small groups of demonstrators frequently clashed with the police. The security forces have used tear gas, water cannons and peppery gas on demonstrators, in what Human Rights Watch describes as “unjustified and illegal use of the police.”
“Turkey faces one of its most serious socio-political upheavals over the decades,” he added. Groups of students and other small groups of demonstrators continued to continue the street demonstrations in the days following the end of the demonstrations outside the town hall.
The Turkish authorities have arrested 1,900 people in 10 days since İmaMoğlu was detained for corruption, before being removed from its functions by the Turkish Interior Ministry and sent to a high security installation on the verge of Istanbul.
Many of those owned by security forces have been seized in prevention raids, including 13 journalists. Ten photojournalists were arrested for having covered the demonstrations before being released later in the week, a few hours before the Minister of Justice, Yılmaz Tunç, met journalists, offering a defense of the Turkey record on press freedom.
On the same day, the BBC correspondent Mark Lowen was expelled after having covered the demonstrations, before the Turkey’s presidential communications management said he had been expelled not to have press accreditation. The authorities also arrested a Swedish journalist who flew to Turkey to cover the demonstrations. Two other Turkish journalists were also detained, as well as the lawyer for Ingamoğlu, who was then released by condition.
Özel told French daily Le Monde that Saturday rallies would become a weekly event in different cities in Turkey, while the party would organize rallies similar to Istanbul every Wednesday.
“We think the arrests will slow down now,” he said.
He added that he was “ready to take the risk of spending eight to 10 years in prison if necessary. Because if we do not stop this coup attempt, it will mean the end of the ballot box. ”
İMamoğlu accused foreign leaders, in particular those in Europe of not having spoken of his detention in a prison message published by the New York Times. “Washington simply expressed” concerns about arrests and recent demonstrations “in Turkey. With a few exceptions, European leaders have not offered a strong response,” he said.
The imprisoned mayor had judged Istanbul since 2019, winning a second voting on the landslide after politicians were aligned with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan demanded that his initial victory be canceled. After winning a re -election once again last year, İmaMoğlu is considered the only candidate capable of beating Erdoğan in the elections expected in the years to come.
The same day that the mayor of Istanbul was imprisoned, 15 million people turned out to vote in a symbolic primary to appoint it as a CHP candidate for the presidency.
“Realizing that he cannot defeat me in the polls, the president of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has used other means: to have his main political opponent arrested for corruption, corruption, leading a criminal network and helping the workers’ party in Kurdistan outlaws, even if the accusations lack credible evidence”, wrote Lemamoğlu.
He added: “My detention marked a new phase in the shift of Turkey in authoritarianism and the use of arbitrary power. A country with a long democratic tradition now faces the serious risk of passing the point of no return.”
