Istanbul – Police used pepper spray, plastic pellets and water cannons against protesters in the capital of Türkiye on early Thursday, the last clash in the country’s country. The greatest anti -government protests in more than a decade.
The demonstrations began last week after Arrest of the mayor of Istanbul Ekrem ImamoglA key rival of President Retep Tayip Erdogan. Imagmoglu He was imprisoned waiting for trial for corruption charges Many see how politically motivated and are also accused of supporting terrorism. The government insists that the Judiciary is independent, but critics say that the evidence is based on secret witnesses and lacks credibility.
The early Thursday, the protesters tried to march and gathered to read a statement near the doors of the Technical University of Middle East, reported the opposition to the HALK TV opposition and local media. They were received by security forces that deployed pepper spray, water cannon and plastic pellets. There was a confrontation where the students hid behind a barricade of garbage containers until the police accused to stop them.
Melih Meric, a legislator of the Republican Popular Party or Imamogl, was seen soaked with water and suffering from exposure to pepper spray.
“My student friends just wanted to make a press release, but the police did not allow it strictly, this is the result,” Meric said in social networks videos.
Interior Minister Ali Yerkaya said Thursday that almost 1,900 people have been arrested for eight days of mass protests throughout the country. He said that 1,879 suspects were arrested, including 260 that were imprisoned waiting for trial. Another 468 were released under judicial control while their cases continue. The procedures are ongoing for another 662 people.
The minister said some faced charges for crimes and drug assault, adding that 150 police had been injured. He did not specify the nature of other positions, but crimes such as resisting the police and not complying with the prohibition of protests and meetings have previously been summoned.
The demonstrations that involve hundreds of thousands of protesters to a large extent have swept the main cities, including the demonstrations organized by the opposition outside the Istanbul City Council. Other important protests have been held in the Istanbul districts of the districts of Kadikoy and Sisli in recent days.
Some manifestations have been affected by violence when the police used water cannons, tear gas, plastic granules and pepper spray to break the protests that have been banned in Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir.
Police continued to make raids from the house aimed at protesters on Thursday morning. The majority of detainees in their homes seem to belong to leftist parties, unions and civil society groups.
Eleven journalists were arrested and sent to jail on Wednesday after covering the protests. At least eight were released under judicial control one day later, said the Association of Media and Law Studies, but still faces charges related to protests.
̇MamoğluThe mayor of Istanbul, was arrested in a raid in Dawn at home last Wednesday and was then sent to prison. It faces positions derived from two investigations on the Metropolitan municipality of Istanbul controlled by the opposition, a case of corruption and one that alleges support for terrorism.
The mayor is the main challenger of Erdogan in a election currently scheduled for 2028, but that probably takes place before.
The Minister of Justice, Yilmaz Tunc, said Thursday that 106 people had been arrested in both municipality investigations, with 51 in jail pending trial, including Imamoglu. The detainees include municipal officials and commercial figures accused of crimes such as bribery, extortion and offers.
Many see the case against imamoglu as politically motivated. The protesters often say that they have left against the democratic setback of Türkiye and the growing authoritarianism, as well as the gloomy economic perspectives of the country.
Imamoglu was confirmed as the CHP candidate for the presidential elections the same day that he was sent to prison that has had a good performance in the recent surveys against Erdogan, and his election as mayor of the largest city in Turkey in 2019 was a great blow to the president.
