A media workers ‘ union reported on Monday that Turkish authorities had detained several journalists from their homes as part of a crackdown in response to the arrest of Istanbul’s mayor and opposition leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
A judge on Sunday formalized the arrest of president Ekrem Imamoglu and placed him in jail pending a test on corruption charges. His incarceration on Wednesday increased fears about democracy and the rule of law, sparking the largest influx of road demonstrations in Turkiye in more than a decade.
Interior secretary Ali Yerlikaya reported that 1, 133 individuals have been detained since the president was detained at his home on March 19; total, 1, 133 have been detained. He claimed that 123 police officers suffered injuries as a result of the demonstrations, along with harmful items like knives, firebombs, and acids.
The minister claimed that some of the imprisoned were identified as having relations to organizations that were on the list of terrorist organizations. According to Yerlikaya, others had legal histories, warning the people to stay away from “provocations.”
President Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday that the demonstrations had turned into a “movement of violence” and that Imamoglu’s opposition group, the Republican People’s Party, would be held responsible for the injuries of soldiers and property destruction.
The president’s arrest is commonly regarded as a political move to eliminate Erdogan’s main rival from the 2028 presidential election. Representatives from the government clearly refute the accusations and assert that Turkiye’s courts are independent.
Imamoglu was detained on suspicion of operating a criminal organization, accepting bribes, extortion, improperly recording private data, and bid-rigging, allegations he has refuted.
As more than 1.7 million people of his opposition party contested a major election, Imamoglu was accepted as its presidential candidate, and he was imprisoned in a prison north of Istanbul.
