Turkey opposition calls mass rally in Istanbul
Imamoglu's detention on March 19 has also prompted a repressive government response that has been sharply condemned by rights groups and drawn criticism from abroad.
The rally, which begins at 0900 GMT in Maltepe on the Asian side of Istanbul, is the first such CHP-led gathering since Tuesday and comes on the eve of the Eid al-Fitr celebration marking the end of Ramadan, which starts Sunday.
Widely seen as the only Turkish politician capable of challenging President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the ballot box, Imamoglu was elected as the CHP's candidate for the 2028 presidential race on the day he was jailed.
"Imamoglu's candidacy for president is the beginning of a journey that will guarantee justice and the nation's sovereignty. Let's go to Maltepe.. and start our march to power together!" CHP leader Ozgur Ozel said on X.
The protests over his arrest quickly spread across Turkey, with vast crowds joining mass nightly rallies outside Istanbul City Hall called by the CHP, that often degenerated into running battles with riot police.
Although the last such rally was Tuesday, student groups have kept up their own protests, most of them masked despite a police crackdown that has seen nearly 2,000 people arrested.
Among them were 20 minors who were arrested between March 22-25, of whom seven remained in custody, the Istanbul Bar Association said Friday.
In Istanbul, at least 511 students were detained, many in predawn raids, of whom 275 were jailed, lawyer Ferhat Guzel told AFP, while admitting that the number was "probably much higher".
The authorities have also cracked down on media coverage, arresting 13 Turkish journalists in five days, deporting a BBC correspondent and arresting a Swedish reporter who flew into Istanbul to cover the unrest.
Although 11 journalists were freed Thursday, among them AFP photographer Yasin Akgul, two more were detained on Friday as was Imamoglu's lawyer Mehmet Pehlivan, who was later granted conditional release.
Swedish journalist Joakim Medin, who flew into Turkey on Thursday to cover the demonstrations, was jailed on Friday, his employer Dagens ETC told AFP, saying it was not immediately clear what the charges were.
- 'Accusations 100 percent false' -
Unconfirmed reports in the Turkish media said Medin was being held for "insulting the president" and belonging to a "terror organisation".
"I know that these accusations are false, 100 percent false," Dagens ETC's editor-in-chief Andreas Gustavsson wrote on X account.
In a post on social media, Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard said Stockholm was taking his arrest "seriously".
Turkish authorities held BBC journalist Mark Lowen for 17 hours on Wednesday before deporting him on the grounds he posed "a threat to public order", the broadcaster said.
Turkey's communications directorate put his deportation down to "a lack of accreditation".
Baris Altintas, co-director of MLSA, the legal NGO helping many of the detainees, told AFP the authorities "seem to be very determined on limiting coverage of the protests.
"As such, we fear that the crackdown on the press will not only continue but also increase."
burs-hmw/ach
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Los Angeles Times
7 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
Newsom welcomes Texas Democrats who fled to foil Trump's redistricting plan
SACRAMENTO — California became center stage for the national political fight over House seats Friday when Gov. Gavin Newsom welcomed Democratic lawmakers from Texas who fled their home state to foil President Trump's plans to redraw Congressional districts. California lawmakers plan to respond with their own plan to gerrymander districts to favor Democrats and neutralize any Republican seats gained in Texas in 2026, with a proposed map expected to become public next week, Newsom said at a press conference after meeting with the lawmakers. 'Make no mistake, California is moving forward,' the governor said. 'We are talking about emergency measures to respond to what's happening in Texas, and we will nullify what happens in Texas.' He noted that while Democrats still support the state's independent redistricting commission, they must counter Trump's plan in GOP-led states to give their party a better chance in next year's midterm election. 'They drew first blood,' he later added of Republicans. Asked about the gathering, a Trump administration spokesperson said Newsom was seeking the limelight to further his political ambitions. 'Gavin Newsom is a loser of the highest order and he will never be president, no matter how hard he prostitutes himself to the press,' said the spokesperson, Steven Cheung. Friday marked the second time in two weeks that Texas Democrats have stood next to Newsom at the California Governor's Mansion and warned that Republican efforts to draw a new map in their state would dilute the power of Black and brown voters. The Democrats hoped that their departure would leave the state Legislature with too few members present to change the map in a special session. They face $500 fines for each day of absence, as well as threats of arrest and removal from office by Gov. Greg Abbott and other Texas GOP officials. Some of the Democratic lawmakers were evacuated from a Chicago hotel where they were staying after a bomb threat on Wednesday. 'We are now facing threats — the threat that we're going to lose our jobs, the threat of financial ruin, the threat that we will be hunted down as our colleagues sit on their hands and remain silent, as we all get personal threats to our lives,' said Texas state Rep. Ann Johnson (D-Houston), one of six Texas lawmakers at the press conference, who was among those evacuated from the Chicago hotel. 'We as Democrats are standing up to ensure that the voices of every voter is lifted up in this next election, and that the next election is not stolen from them.' Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco); Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-San Jose), chair of the California Democratic congressional delegation; Senate President Pro Tem Mike McGuire (D-Healdsburg); Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas (D-Hollister) and other elected officials joined the meeting in a show of unity as California Democrats attempt to convince their own state's voters to fight back. Pelosi noted that the state's congressional delegation is united in backing the redistricting proposal to counter Trump. 'The President has paved over the Rose Garden. He's paved over freedom of speech. He's paved over freedom of education, [an] independent judiciary, the rule of law,' Pelosi said. 'He's gone too far. We will not let him pave over free and fair elections in our country, starting with what he's trying to do in Texas.' She fought back against an argument some have made — that two wrongs don't make a right. 'This is self-defense for our democracy,' she said. The California plan calls for the state Legislature to approve a constitutional amendment establishing new Congressional voting districts crafted to make GOP members vulnerable. Passage of the bill would result in a special election on Nov. 4, with California voters deciding if the state should temporarily pause the congressional boundaries created by an independent redistricting commission in 2021 and adopt new maps for the 2026, 2028 and 2030 elections. If approved by voters, the measure would include a 'trigger' specifying that it would only take effect if Texas or other Republican-led states follow through with redrawing their maps to boost GOP seats before the midterm election. California would revert to its existing redistricting law after the next census and before the 2032 election. At least so far, California voters appear uncertain about whether they want to swap Newsom's plan for the independent redistricting system they previously adopted at the ballot box. An Emerson College poll found support for redrawing California's congressional map at 33% and opposition at 25%. The survey of 1,000 registered voters, conducted Aug. 4 and 5, found that 42% were undecided. Newsom has expressed confidence that California voters will back his plan, which he is casting as a rebuttal to Trump's efforts to 'rig' the midterm elections. 'I'm confident we'll get it when people know what it is and what it's not, and I think, at the end of the day, they understand what's at stake,' Newsom said Thursday. Newsom argues that California's process is more transparent than Trump's because voters here will see the map and decide if the state should go forward with it. To fulfill Trump's request for five additional seats, Abbott is attempting to redraw House districts in Texas through a state legislative process that does not require voter approval. It's unclear what will happen in Austin, with Democrats determined to block the effort and Abbott and other Texas Republicans insisting they will keep pressing it. The current special session ends on Aug. 19. But in an interview with NBC News Thursday evening, Abbott vowed 'to call special session after special session after special session with the same agenda items on there.' In addition to arrest on civil warrants, the Democrats are facing threats of being removed from office. Direct-deposit payments to the legislators have been curtailed, forcing them to pick up their checks in person at the state capitol in Austin or go without the money. The redistricting fight has strengthened Newsom's national platform as a potential 2028 presidential contender and bolstered his reputation as a Democrat willing to take the fight to Trump and his allies. Since Trump took office in January, Newom had been walking a fine line between calling out the president and playing nice in hopes of being able to work together to rebuild from the California wildfires. But the gloves came off after Trump deployed the National Guard during federal immigration raids in Los Angeles in June, prompting the governor and his administration to much more aggressively push back on the president's conservative agenda.
New York Post
9 hours ago
- New York Post
AWOL Texas Dems won't get paid till they show up: state House speaker
About 50 Texas Democrats who fled the state to delay a redistricting vote won't get paid until they show up at the capital, the Republican speaker of the state's House of Representatives said Friday. House Speaker Dustin Burrow's threat came after the Texas House, for the third time this week, failed to establish the quorum necessary to continue a special legislative redistricting session – thanks to the 55 Democrats who are still AWOL. 3 The House was still five members short of a quorum Friday. Getty Images Advertisement 'Comptroller Kelly Hancock and I have enacted a new policy stating that any member absent for the purpose of breaking quorum will no longer have their paycheck or per diem deposited electronically,' Burrows announced on the floor of the chamber. 'While the Constitution forbids us from withholding pay, it does not dictate how we issue the pay,' he said. 'Those checks must now be picked up in person on Capitol grounds, effective immediately.' Burrows further ordered 30% cuts to the office budgets of absent Democrats and required them to show up in person to receive reimbursements or send out newsletters. Advertisement The missing Democrats, some of whom have popped up in New York, Illinois and California, also face a $500-per-day fine for every unexcused absence from the session. Meanwhile, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed two lawsuits Friday aimed at cutting off funding that the absentee Democrats may be receiving and removing some of the most outspoken missing members from the House. Paxton asked the Supreme Court of Texas to declare that 13 House seats – belonging to members who 'made incriminating public statements regarding their refusal to return' – vacated over the 'unlawful absences.' 'The rogue Democrat legislators who fled the state have abandoned their duties, leaving their seats vacant,' Paxton said in a statement. 'These cowards deliberately sabotaged the constitutional process and violated the oath they swore to uphold. Advertisement 'Their out-of-state rebellion cannot go unchecked, and the business of Texas must go on.' 3 The missing Democrats oppose a GOP-led push to redraw congressional maps in the state. Getty Images 3 The governor has threatened the absent members with arrest. REUTERS Paxton's second lawsuit targets Powered by People, a lefty political action committee founded by former Rep. Beto O'Rourke (D-Texas) that has reportedly covered airfare, lodging and other logistical expenses the absent state reps have incurred. Advertisement The lawsuit, filed in the District Court of Tarrant County, seeks to block O'Rouke's group from continuing to raise or distribute funds 'for the purpose of funding the runaway Democrat House members.? 'Democrat runaways are likely accepting Beto Bribes to underwrite their jet-setting sideshow in far-flung places and misleadingly raising political funds to pay for personal expenses,' Paxton said. 'This out-of-state, cowardly cabal is abandoning their constitutional duties. 'I will not allow failed political has-beens to buy off Texas elected officials. I'll see you in court, Beto.' O'Rouke responded to the litigation on X by announcing he's also suing. 'We just sued Ken Paxton in state court. Taking the fight directly to him,' the former congressman and Democratic presidential primary candidate wrote. The House's 30-day special legislative session ends Aug. 19. The House was five members short of a quorum Friday. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has vowed to relentlessly pursue the redistricting push, which could add five GOP seats to the US House of Representatives — even if the missing Democrats hold out for the remainder of the special sessions. Advertisement 'I will be calling special session after special session, and we are going to get these maps passed,' Abbott said in an interview with Fox News. The governor has already issued arrest warrants for the missing Democrats and has ordered state law enforcement to track them down and force them back to the capital. The FBI is reportedly assisting in the effort to find the Democrats that fled out-of-state, according to Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas).
Politico
10 hours ago
- Politico
Inside the White House Energy Dominance Council
Welcome to POLITICO's West Wing Playbook: Remaking Government, your guide to Donald Trump's unprecedented overhaul of the federal government — the key decisions, the critical characters and the power dynamics that are upending Washington and beyond. Send tips | Subscribe | Email Sophia | Email Irie | Email Ben In the months since President DONALD TRUMP returned to office, a little-known but deeply influential body inside the White House has been quietly driving one of Trump's biggest policy ambitions: Making the United States 'energy dominant' by providing affordable, reliable energy to Americans while still generating enough electricity to power the boom in artificial intelligence. This Energy Dominance Council, first announced in November with Interior Secretary DOUG BURGUM as director and Energy Secretary CHRIS WRIGHT as deputy, is modeled after the national security and economic councils. It is tasked with coordinating the federal government — from the Department of Energy to the Department of Agriculture to the State Department — toward achieving those goals. The goal is to expedite projects, said RICHARD GOLDBERG, the senior counselor who helped conceive of and stood up the council. The council has been working with private enterprise to dramatically reduce the time it takes to get a project off the ground — from years, he said, to days. It's part of a larger administration drive to cut the red tape it believes stymies innovation. But environmental groups and renewable energy executives have taken the White House to task for refusing to include wind and solar power projects, two of the fastest and cheapest ways to increase energy production, in their energy dominance plans. That approach could haunt the administration, critics warn, as electricity prices rise, in part because of the high demand for power from the data centers used to fuel AI. Trump's focus on keeping oil prices down could also cause the White House to stumble on the president's promise to boost production — oil companies are laying off employees and the number of barrels the United States is producing is starting to fall after reaching a record high in March. West Wing Playbook sat down with Goldberg to discuss the council's mission, structure, and how it's navigating the challenge of meeting America's growing energy demand. He just wrapped up his service as a special government employee. This conversation has been edited for length and clarity. Let's start with the big picture. What is the Energy Dominance Council, and how does it work inside the White House? It's the first time in history that we've created a dedicated energy dominance council that is tasked with carrying out the president's objectives to make America energy dominant. That means everything that is required to have enough energy to provide reliable and affordable energy for all Americans, have enough energy to win the AI arms race against China, have a US-led energy supply chain that hooks allies to the United States and unhooks people from our adversaries, and having enough energy to promote peace stability while managing threats and having maximum flexibility in times of conflict. How is the council structured? Who's actually doing the day-to-day work? The council is less than 10 very committed patriotic Americans working out of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. It's run by an executive director who's a deputy assistant to the president, and supported by two deputies who are special assistants to the president. They are managing projects on a daily basis. We have a dedicated policy lead just working oil and gas issues all day long. There's a policy lead working on power issues and all that power encompasses, and that includes nuclear power, coal power and electricity to power AI and what that means as far as maintaining and preserving, strengthening the grid today. A policy lead on mining and critical minerals was a very important addition that the president made to the council's mandate. How are you executing on that vision for the president? The message is the Energy Dominance Council is open for business. You just have to call and say, you have a project, you have something that we're working on that is a new build, a new mine, a new dig, a new connection, a new pipeline, a new export terminal, you name it, and that it will contribute to energy dominance in the following ways. It will make sure we are adding reliable baseload energy to our grid in the following ways. This is the focal point of the entire U.S. government to say, what do you need from the U.S. government to make your project happen in 14 or 28 days instead of five or 10 years or 30 years? Is it permitting assistance? Is it financing assistance? Is it other regulatory reviews that have become so burdensome over many years? What financing tools are available to companies seeking federal support? The Energy Department's loan program is well known, but there's also the Department of Defense's defense production authorities, the Export-Import Bank, the Development Finance Corporation and others. The council helps projects navigate this web. We've also ramped up investment in critical minerals, including taking the unprecedented step of having the U.S. government take equity in strategic mining projects like Mountain Pass [the only operating rare-earth mine in the United States]. What's the Council's emergency plan if we do see energy prices spike or grid failures this summer? We're working to prevent that from happening in the first place. There are only two major reasons why that might happen right now. One is you keep closing down coal plants that are keeping the grid stable in certain areas of high demand, you have states that just keep pushing forward on wind and solar with state support of some kind and connecting it to the grid and making their grid over reliant on it. Or you have one of these hyper scalers try to connect into an existing grid with just more power needs than you know could possibly happen. But the president is not going to allow that to happen, I'm very confident. If he sees any knuckleheads getting in the way that could cause it to happen, he's going to look at any possible authority that he has to break the log jam. In the event that energy prices do spike, do you think the administration would review its stance on wind and solar? I think it's important to understand that we have been put on a trajectory, on the grid and on prices by policy decisions made for many years embracing intermittent and unreliable sources of energy. And so when we start seeing stress in the grid today, this is a grid that the president inherited. I understand the political strategy from the wind and solar industry to look at an immediate moment of crisis or a rise in price or anything like that that could ever happen and say, 'Oh, it's because you're de-prioritizing wind and solar.' That's not why it's happening, and it's not the solution, we will absolutely see higher prices and grid failures if we reverse course. We need heavy baseload energy pumped into the grid to not just win the air arms race, but keep the lights on today. I've heard some buzz recently on geothermal. Where is the administration on this form of energy? It has potential. DOE is looking at this and working on this. It is absolutely part of the council's mandate and focus. You know, we just finished putting the finishing touches on having a challenge coin for the council and geothermal is represented on the coin. Europe promised to spend $750 billion over three years on purchases of U.S. energy. Does the U.S. have enough oil, gas and other energy commodities to meet that price tag? The answer is we have availability of supply today to increase sales abroad, increase exports across Europe and the Asia Pacific as well. And we have a supply curve that will continue to increase over the years ahead to both provide for the U.S. consumer and the increased demand that we're seeing across the globe for us. We need to continue to build out both the export infrastructure and help our potential customers abroad make sure that they're building out their infrastructure for import facilities and floating regasification units. We have American companies involved in all of that that can help. MESSAGE US — West Wing Playbook is obsessively covering the Trump administration's reshaping of the federal government. Are you a federal worker? A DOGE staffer? Have you picked up on any upcoming DOGE moves? We want to hear from you on how this is playing out. Email us at westwingtips@ Did someone forward this email to you? Subscribe! POTUS PUZZLER Which former president was really weirded out by fish? (Answer at bottom.) Agenda Setting RUIN THE BRUINS: The White House is seeking a $1 billion settlement from the University of California, Los Angeles, our JUAN PEREZ JR. reports. The move comes after the administration last week froze nearly $600 million in funding to the school. University of California President JAMES B. MILLIKEN said in a statement the school was reviewing the proposal but that a settlement of that size would 'devastate' the university. SELL SELL SELL?: Trump is considering selling stock in mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac later this year, our KATHERINE HAPGOOD reports. The details of a potential public offering would value the two companies at around $500 billion and involve selling 5 to 15 percent of their stock. It is unclear whether Fannie and Freddie will remain under government conservatorship. 'The president is weighing all his options,' a senior administration official said today. The Federal Housing Finance Agency and the Treasury Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment. EDITED HISTORY: The Smithsonian's National Museum of American History today revealed an updated version of its impeachment exhibit that now includes context about Trump's impeachments, WaPo's JANAY KINGSBERRY and MAURA JUDKIS report. The change comes after a placard with Trump's name was removed from the exhibit following a Smithsonian review of the museum's content prompted by the White House. 'The updated display now reflects all presidential impeachments,' the Smithsonian said in a statement. 'Adhering to principles foundational to our role as the nation's museum, we take great care to ensure that what we present to the public reflects both intellectual integrity and thoughtful design.' WHO'S IN, WHO'S OUT ANOTHER IRS SHAKEUP: Trump is replacing his Internal Revenue Service commissioner just two months into his tenure, Nicole and our BRIAN FALER report. BILLY LONG is expected to instead be named to an ambassadorship. It is unclear who will next lead the IRS, which has had six different leaders this year. Treasury Secretary SCOTT BESSENT will serve as the agency's acting commissioner, said the White House official, who was granted anonymity to discuss personnel moves. Knives Out EASIER SAID THAN DONE: The MAGA movement is escalating its calls to arrest Trump's opponents, from the Texas Democrats who bolted from the state to derail a redistricting vote to former President BARACK OBAMA. But those screaming the loudest appear likely to wind up disappointed, our KYLE CHENEY reports. It's a familiar refrain for Trump's second term: The far right lusts to see prominent Democrats or Trump adversaries hauled off in handcuffs, only to be let down when their revenge fantasies run into reality. 'They voted for that and now they realize they can't have retribution because it's not legally sound,' said GENE ROSSI, a white collar criminal defense lawyer who spent three decades at the Justice Department. SWISH SWISH, TISH: Speaking of political retribution, the U.S. attorney's office in Albany has issued at least two subpoenas to New York Attorney General LETITIA JAMES in recent days, our NICK REISMAN, JOSH GERSTEIN and ERICA ORDEN report. The subpoenas are an escalation of the Trump administration's scrutiny of James, who has positioned herself as a ferocious opponent of the president. One is focused on James' successful civil fraud case against Trump's businesses. The second stems from her high-profile fraud case against the National Rifle Association. In the Courts NOT SO FAST: A federal appeals court panel today threw out U.S. District Judge JAMES BOASBERG's bid to pursue criminal contempt for Trump administration officials he says defied his orders in March by sending 130 Venezuelan men to a prison in El Salvador, Kyle and Josh report. D.C. Circuit Judges GREGORY KATSAS and NEOMI RAO — both Trump appointees — overturned an order Boasberg issued in April initiating the potential contempt proceedings. The ruling can be appealed further. But if it remains in place, it appears to sharply diminish — but not completely rule out — the possibility that lawyers or other officials in the administration could face contempt charges over their conduct during the high-profile deportation showdown. What We're Reading Nobody Is Making Deals in Trump's Washington (Jim Secreto for POLITICO Magazine) I Helped Bury Stories About Trump. I Regret It. (Cameron Stracher for NYT Opinion) Veterans' Care at Risk Under Trump as Hundreds of Doctors and Nurses Reject Working at VA Hospitals (ProPublica's David Armstrong, Eric Umansky and Vernal Coleman) Could the U.S. Have Saved Navalny? (WSJ's Drew Hinshaw and Joe Parkinson) POTUS PUZZLER Former President GROVER CLEVELAND found fish more mysterious than humans, saying, 'No one has yet been wise enough to explain their ways or account for their conduct.' (Source: White House Historical Association)
