Thousands join march in Turkiye’s Istanbul to protest mayor’s arrest

Thousands of protesters have joined a march in Istanbul in support of the city’s arrested mayor, defying a warning from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that authorities would crack down on “street terror”.

Demonstrators took to the streets in Turkiye’s commercial hub on Friday for the third consecutive day to show their support for Ekrem Imamoglu – Erdogan’s chief political rival – who was arrested on Wednesday, days before he was due to announce his 2028 presidential run.

Opposition leader Ozgur Ozel said more than 300,000 people had joined protests across Istanbul.

“We are 300,000 people,” the CHP leader told the vast crowds in front of City Hall, saying protesters had gathered at several places across the country’s largest city due to the road and bridge closures preventing people from all being in one place.

The mayor was arrested early on Wednesday over alleged corruption and “terror” links. Dozens of other prominent figures, including journalists and businesspeople, were also detained. After the detentions, the government announced a four-day ban on political demonstrations.

The arrests came a day after a university in Istanbul invalidated Imamoglu’s diploma, in effect disqualifying him from the presidential race because having a university degree is required to run for the nation’s highest office under the Turkish Constitution.

Imamoglu said he would challenge Istanbul University’s decision.

Erdogan on Friday said the government would not tolerate street protests and accused Imamoglu’s Republican People’s Party (CHP) of links to corruption and “terror” organisations.

“An anticorruption 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 Turkiye just to protect their plundering schemes,” Erdogan said.