Ankara (TDI): Turkiye warned on Friday against “illegal” calls from the main opposition for street protests over the detention of Istanbul’s mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, after some of the country’s biggest shows of civil disobedience in more than a decade.
The warning from President Tayyip Erdogan’s government comes ahead of a possible weekend verdict by a court to formally detained the mayor, which could escalate both the demonstrations and a sharp selloff in Turkish assets.
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said 53 people were arrested and sixteen police officers were wounded in demonstrations that erupted at university campuses, an Istanbul municipal headquarters and elsewhere on Thursday, despite a 4-day ban on public gatherings imposed Wednesday when Imamoglu was jailed. The protests triggered scattered clashes.
Imamoglu, who is Erdogan’s main political rival and leads him in some polls, was arrested facing allegations including corruption and aiding a terrorist group.
He can be held behind the bars until Sunday, by which time the court must decide on his arrest.
The mayor’s main opposition Republican People’s Party has slammed the move as politically motivated and urged people to protest lawfully, while European leaders have termed it democratic backsliding, according to Reuters.
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Yerlikaya and the justice minister, Yilmaz Tunc, criticized the calls for protests from CHP leader Ozgur Ozel as “irresponsible”.
“Gathering and marching in demonstration are fundamental rights. But calling to the streets over an ongoing legal probe is illegal and unacceptable,” Tunc said.
Tunc added that the “independent and unbiased judiciary” was examining the case. He also warned against linking Erdogan to Imamoglu’s detention.
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Protests took place Thursday in Ankara, Izmir and Istanbul, as well as other provinces across Turkiye, with police erecting barricades, blocking streets and using water cannons to disperse some crowds, particularly students.
