What is happening in Turkey?

Pars Today - Ekrem Imamoğlu, Mayor of Istanbul, was arrested on charges of corruption and aiding a terrorist group; a move which has been condemned by the Turkish opposition.

According to Pars Today, Turkish police on Wednesday arrested Istanbul mayor and main presidential rival of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, on charges of corruption and terrorism. This move caused widespread protest demonstrations.

Ekrem Imamoğlu's arrest enraged opponents and the opposition parties condemned it as a coup with a political motive.

The governor-general of Istanbul province, after widespread demonstrations against arresting of Ekrem Imamoğlu, the Mayor of Istanbul and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's rival during the presidential campaigns in Turkey, prohibited any gatherings and demonstrations in the province till March 23, 2025.

In spite of the 4-day prohibition of demonstration imposed after detentions, tens of thousands of people gathered in front of the Istanbul municipality offices in Saracen on Wednesday and chanted anti-government slogans.

Özgur Özel, Leader of the CHP party, delivered a speech on Wednesday among the tens of thousand strong gathering in front of the municipality offices in Istanbul and described Ekrem Imamoğlu as the next president.

Meanwhile, Mansur Yavaş, Mayor of Ankara, announced his support for Ekrem Imamoğlu and suspended his decision for presidential candidacy.

After the arrest of the mayor of Istanbul by Turkish security forces, the country's parliament sessions turned into a scene of tension among the MPs on Thursday.

According to this report and the released images, a representative of the ruling party had a verbal squabble with representatives of the Republican People's Party.

On the other hand, Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, in reaction to the arrest of the mayor of Istanbul, stated that the opposition is trying to mislead people with political slogans, instead of trying to be accountable for corruption charges.

This is while, according to the media, thousands of Turkish people staged demonstrations for the second consecutive night in various cities to protest Ekrem Imamoğlu's arrest and there were clashes between the police and protesters in some regions.

RM/MG