Despite the repression, opposition activists promise to “not back”, urging more people to take the streets.
Turkish police have held 1,113 people across the country over five days of demonstrations while President Recep Tayyip Erdogan blames the main opposition party for the disturbances aroused by the detention of his main political rival.
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya confirmed the total number of arrests on Monday after a fifth night of the biggest anti-government demonstrations that the country has seen in more than a decade. They started after the mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu, was arrested on Wednesday and accused of corruption, aid to the Kurdistan workers’ party (PKK) and to lead a criminal organization.
Speaking in Ankara on Monday, Erdogan criticized the opposition republican people (CHP) for having started a “movement of violence”, adding that his “spectacle” would eventually end and he would be ashamed of the “evil” he made in the country.
Reporting from Istanbul, Aksel Zaimovic of Al Jazeera said that the arrests had not alleviated the determination of the opposition. “They say they don’t retreat. In fact, they encourage more people to come and join the rally that is planned in a few hours.
“They say they should boycott what they perceive as pro-government media, all the media that do not cover these protests, but also companies that have links with the government,” he said.
Imamoglu is widely considered the only politician who could pose an important challenge to Erdogan, who has dominated Turkiye’s policy since 2003, first as Prime Minister and then as President.
The Turkish government denies that the arrest of Imamoglu has been politically motivated, insisting that the courts of the nation are independent.
On Sunday, Imamoglu, 53, was stripped of his title of mayor and imprisoned in the Silivri prison on the outskirts of Istanbul pending the trial for corruption he refuses. Another accusation of “terrorism” has been rejected at the moment.
The same day, he was massively voted as a CHP candidate for the 2028 presidential election with around 15 million people who voted in a demonstration of support for him.
The demonstrations began in Istanbul after the arrest of Imamoglu, spreading to more than 55 of the 81 provinces of Turkiye. The demonstrators clashed with anti-riot police who deployed tear gas and water cannons.
Despite the prohibitions of street rallies in many cities, antigenmental demonstrations continued for a fifth consecutive night on Sunday with ferocious clashes between demonstrators and the riot police.
Before Dawn on Monday, police arrested 10 Turkish journalists at home, according to the group of rights of the Media and Law Studies Association.
Declarations of the police of journalists detained, which should be sent to the courthouse tomorrow
On the morning of March 24, at least 10 journalists were detained in Dawn Raids in Istanbul and Izmir.
The declarations of the journalists detained were completed and they are … pic.twitter.com/c949nebvpg
– MLSA (@mlsaturkey) March 24, 2025
On Monday, the young demonstrators organized a rally next to the port of Besiktas on the Bosphorus in Istanbul before the main night’s rally in front of the town hall, scheduled for 5.30 p.m. GMT.
Yerlikaya said 123 police officers had been injured in demonstrations so far, adding that the government would not “terrorize the streets”.
