Huge protests in Turkey as crowds hit by rubber bullets and tear gas after Erdogan arrests main rival
23 March 2025, 23:41
Hundreds of thousands of protesters took to the streets of Istanbul on Sunday for a fifth night of demonstrations against the arrest of the Turkish president's main rival.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
Police have used pepper spray and fired rubber bullets into the crowd that gathered outside Istanbul's city hall.
Ekrem Imamoglu, the mayor of Istanbul, was detained on Wednesday and formally arrested and jailed pending trial over corruption charges earlier today.
Chaos intensified on Sunday when he was slapped with charges criminal organisation, accepting bribes, extortion, illegally recording personal data and bid-rigging.
Ozgur Ozel, who leads Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), has continued to post on X after the government requested a ban on more than 700 accounts.
"Today they are trying to suppress social media," he said.
Read more: Turkish president Erdogan's main political rival arrested and jailed ahead of trial
Read more: Tesla chargers set on fire as protests against Elon Musk spread across US and Europe
Accept it now Mr. Tayyip [President Erdogan], you cannot suppress the voice of the people.
"I congratulate the [X] administration for its democratic and liberal attitude and hope that it will continue this attitude with courage."
The huge demonstrations have continued despite a ban on gatherings in Istanbul imposed this week - but many protesters hid their faces with masks.
The Turkish government denies Mr Imamoglu's arrest was politically motivated and says the courts are independent.
A request to detain Mr Imamoglu on terror-related charges was denied.Following the ruling, he was transferred to Silivri prison, west of Istanbul.Mr Imamoglu has labelled all of the claims "unimaginable accusations and slanders".
Many viewed his detention as a political move to remove him from the 2028 presidential race - deepening concerns over the country's democracy and the rule of law.
Mr Erdogan has served as Turkey's president since his Justice and Development Party (AKP) came to power in 2003.
Its biggest opponent in the next election looks set to be the Republican People's Party (CHP), which this weekend began holding a primary presidential election to endorse Mr Imamoglu, their only presidential candidate.
The party also set up solidarity boxes where non-members could show their support - and at the time of tonight's protest, more than 13 million had done so, according to the CHP.
In a post on social media, Mr Imamoglu praised the result, saying the people had told Mr Erdogan: "Enough is enough."
"That ballot box will arrive and the nation will deliver a slap to the administration it will never forget," he said.
