More than 1,000 arrested as protests continue to sweep Istanbul after Erdogan rival detained on corruption charges
24 March 2025, 19:59 | Updated: 24 March 2025, 20:01
More than 1,000 people have been arrested after a wave of protests have swept Istanbul for a sixth day.
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It follows the arrest and detention of President Erdogan's main rival Ekrem Imamoglu - the mayor of Istanbul.
He 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.
Police have used pepper spray and fired rubber bullets into the crowd that gathered outside Istanbul's city hall.
Earlier, the Turkish government said 1,133 people had been arrested as protests continued for a sixth day.
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.
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."
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Kabullenmiyoruz, vazgeçmiyoruz! Hep birlikte yılmadan, korkmadan hak ve adalet için tek ses olmaya devam ediyoruz. @ekrem_imamoglu pic.twitter.com/bg0BQo9vra
— Dilek Kaya İmamoğlu (@dk_imamoglu) March 21, 2025
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.
Speaking from the capital Ankara, he accused Turkey's main opposition party is "responsible for the injury of our police officers in the vandals' attacks, the breaking of our shopkeepers’ windows, and the damage to public property".
"Instead of responding to allegations of corruption, robbery, bribery and extortion, they have made the most vile and unlawful statements in our political history for [the last] five days,".
"Stop disturbing the peace of our citizens with provocations."
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.
