Turkey: Hundreds of thousands join growing Istanbul protest

Hundreds of thousands of protesters gathered in for a mass rally called by  main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) against the jailing of the city’s mayor and

Imamoglu’s March 19 arrest on corruption charges has sparked one of the biggest street demonstrations against President . The opposition figure is believed to be the in a presidential election.

The CHP designated him as its candidate for the race despite his detention. The party, rights groups and Western governments all believe his arrest and continued detention are politically motivated.

What happened at the protests?

Protesters gathered in Maltepe on the Asian side of Istanbul, waving Turkish flags and banners for the CHP-organized “Freedom for Imamoglu” rally.

CHP leader Ozgur Ozel, who organized the rally, said 2.2 million people joined the protest, but it was not possible to independently confirm the figure.

Ozel said the charges against the mayor were baseless and politically motivated, and the CHP called for a boycott of media outlets, brands and stores that it says are pro-Erdogan.

Imamoglu, meanwhile, addressed the crowd in a read-out letter, calling for unity against his “unlawful” arrest.

“I am not afraid at all. Because our dear nation is united,” he wrote from his high-security cell in Istanbul’s Marmara prison. “We will not bow to tyranny. From my endless cell, I cry out: The nation is great.”

“With every move he makes against me, Erdogan shows that he is someone who runs away from elections and is afraid of his opponent,” the letter continued.

Some protesters were seen on board ferries crossing the Bosphorus, chanting “Everywhere is Taksim, resistance is everywhere,” the French AFP news agency reported, citing one of its correspondents. The chants are about the massive 2013 protests centered around the iconic Taksim Square.

One unnamed CHP supporter told Reuters news agency: “The trend of the economy, of justice, law — everything is getting worse. That is why we are here.*

Crackdown on journalists persists amid protests

Hundreds of thousands of Turks nationwide have joined protests since Imamoglu was detained last week and then jailed pending trial on graft charges.

The demonstrations have been mostly peaceful, but nearly 2,000 people have been detained. Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said this week 260 people have been jailed pending trial as of Thursday.

Erdogan, who has dominated Turkish politics for over two decades, has dismissed the protests as a “show” and called on the CHP to stop “provoking” Turks.

Authorities have, meanwhile, continued to crack down on media coverage of the protest movement. On Thursday, a Swedish journalist was detained upon arriving at the airport before being formally jailed on Friday.

Joakim Medin had flown into the country to cover the protests, his employer, Dagens ETC, told AFP. The Swedish media outlet said his charges were not immediately clear, but Turkey’s Anadolu Agency said he was being held for “insulting the president” and belonging to a “terrorist organization.”

“I know that these accusations are false, 100% false,” Dagens ETC’s Editor-in-Chief Andreas Gustavsson wrote on X.

Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard said Stockholm was taking Medin’s arrest “seriously.”

Some 13 Turkish journalists have been arrested in five days. Eleven were freed Thursday, including AFP photographer Yasin Akgul.

Authorities also deported BBC correspondent Mark Lowen on the grounds he posed “a threat to public order,” after holding him for 17 hours.

Edited by: Sean Sinico, Roshni Majumdar

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