Turkey’s CHP party urges peaceful protests after Istanbul mayor’s arrest despite ban

The leader of Turkey’s main opposition has renewed a call for supporters to take to the streets for peaceful demonstrations against the arrest of Istanbul’s mayor and top political rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Ekrem İmamoğlu was arrested in a dawn raid on his residence on Wednesday over alleged corruption and terror links, escalating a crackdown on opposition figures and dissenting voices.

Several other prominent figures, including two district mayors, were also detained.

Many view the arrest as a politically driven attempt to remove a popular opposition figure and key challenger to Erdoğan from the next presidential race, currently scheduled for 2028.

Government officials reject accusations that yasal actions against opposition figures are politically motivated and insist that Turkey’s courts operate independently.

The Cumhuriyet daily newspaper and other media reported that police began questioning İmamoğlu on Friday afternoon. He can be detained without charges for up to four days.

Erdoğan said that the government wouldn’t tolerate street protests and accused the opposition party of being associated with corruption, marginal groups and terrorist organizations.

“We see that an anti-corruption operation in Istanbul is being used as an excuse to stir unrest in our streets. I want it to be known that we will not allow a handful of opportunists to bring unrest to Turkey just to protect their plundering schemes,” Erdoğan said.

“Pointing to the streets instead of courtrooms to defend theft, plunder, lawlessness and fraud is a grave irresponsibility.”

Since İmamoğlu’s arrest, thousands of people have gathered at Istanbul’s city hall for nighttime rallies and clashes have erupted between demonstrators and police in Istanbul, the capital Ankara and the third-largest city, Izmir.

The most violent episode took place at Ankara’s Middle East Technical University late on Thursday, when police deployed tear gas and water cannons to break up the crowd of demonstrators.

Students claimed police had used rubber bullets, but the government has denied this.

The Interior Ministry said that more than 50 people were detained and 16 police officers were injured, following the protests.

On Friday, authorities in Ankara and Izmir announced a five-day ban on demonstrations, following a similar ban imposed earlier by the Istanbul governor’s office.

The bans came after the country’s justice minister acknowledged people’s right to demonstrate, but said that street protests amid ongoing judicial investigations were unacceptable.

Nevertheless, Özgür Özel, the chairman of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) made a new appeal for people to gather and demonstrate.

“I invite tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, and millions to peacefully demonstrate, express our democratic reaction and exercise our constitutional rights,” he said.

“To those who say that calling people to the streets is irresponsible, I say this: We are not the ones filling these streets and squares. It is your lawlessness and injustices that have brought people out.”

İmamoğlu’s arrest came just days before he was expected to be nominated as the opposition CHP’s presidential candidate in a primary on Sunday.

Özel has said that the primary, where around 1.5 million delegates can vote, will go ahead as planned.

The CHP has also urged citizens to participate in a symbolic election on Sunday — through ballot boxes to be set up across Turkey — to show solidarity with İmamoğlu.

Analysts say İmamoğlu could be removed from office and replaced by a ‘trustee mayor,’ if he is formally charged with links to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which is listed as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the EU and its Western allies.