Latest news with #Ekremİmamoglu
Yahoo
19-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trials start for 189 arrested for protesting the government in Turkey
April 19 (UPI) -- Trials started in İstanbul for 189 people, including students, journalists and lawyers, for their involvement in protests in March against the Turkish government spurred on by the arrest of the city's mayor. The Istanbul prosecutor's office said it plans to put 819 people on trial in 20 criminal investigations after police detained nearly 2,000 people in the protests between March 19 to 26, with the first mass trials starting Friday. The opposition Republican People's Party, which organized the events, said than 2.2 million people demonstrated in support of the mayor of Turkey's largest city, the BBC reported. Ekrem İmamoglu, İstanbul's mayor and opposition candidate to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, was arrested on March 19 of corruption charges. İmamoglu wants to run for president in 2028 against Erdoğan. Imamoglu and his party said the charges against him are politically motivated, as the ruling Justice and Development Party has governed Turkey since 2002, with Erdogan as prime minister and then president since 2003. Of the arrests, 650 were accused of attending peaceful protests on March 27 after the ban ended. Protests have continued this month. Arrested protesters have been accused of taking part in illegal protests and failing to obey orders to disperse. Video footage verified by Human Rights Watch shows the use of tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannons to control the demonstrators. Among the arrests, 107 are charged only with participating in unauthorized demonstrations and failure to disperse. Other offenses include carrying a weapon, covering their faces to hide their identity and incitement to commit a crime. There are also eight journalists on trial. All but about 50 students remain in detention, according to information provided by Parents Solidarity Network to BBC Turkish. The government has banned public gatherings and penalties for doing so range from six months to five years in prison, according to Human Rights Watch. "Given the glaring absence of evidence, it is hard not to conclude that the intended purpose of these rushed trials is to send a warning against exercising the rights to peaceful protest or free expression," said Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "The prosecutor should be calling for these cases to be dropped unless there is direct and substantive evidence that particular individuals committed specific crimes." Supporters, including family members, journalists, university lecturers and lawmakers from the opposition party, appeared in two courtrooms in the mass hearings. "We have no fear, we are not the ones who should be afraid," a second-year student from Mimar Sinan University in Instanbul told the BBC.
Iraqi News
29-03-2025
- Politics
- Iraqi News
Istanbul: Massive Rally for Turkey's Largest Opposition Party
Follow-up - INA The Republican People's Party (CHP), Turkey's largest opposition party, is organizing a large rally today, Saturday, in the Maltepe district on the Asian side of Istanbul. Hundreds of thousands of opposition supporters are expected to participate under the title "The Mass Rally for the Freedom of Our Presidential Candidate, Ekrem İmamoglu." They oppose the arrest and trial of the mayor of Istanbul, who was removed by order of the Turkish Ministry of Interior following corruption charges. Through this mass rally, the main opposition in Turkey emphasizes that its candidate for the upcoming presidential elections is Ekrem İmamoglu, and says that the cases he is currently facing are political, not judicial. Through this rally, the opposition is sending a message that it is continuing the measures it began on the 19th of this month, the day of Ekrem's arrest, before his formal arrest four days later. This comes as thousands of Turkish demonstrators continue their protests in Istanbul, denouncing the government's crackdown on freedoms following the arrest and trial of the Istanbul mayor.
Leaders
22-03-2025
- Politics
- Leaders
Türkiye Protests Continue over Istanbul Mayor's Detention
Protests have ramped up across many cities in Türkiye for a third day over the arrest of Istanbul Mayor, Ekrem İmamoglu, a key opposition politician. In response, the Turkish authorities announced the detention of 343 people on Friday night, according to Türkiye's Interior Minister. Türkiye Protests Turkish people took to the streets on Wednesday against the detention of İmamoglu, in one of the largest protests in more than a decade. Tens of thousands of people participated in mostly peaceful demonstrations, despite a four-day ban on gatherings, reported Reuters. İmamoglu's Republican People's Party (CHP), the main opposition, called its supporters to demonstrate lawfully. As a result, big rallies gathered on Friday night across several cities, including Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, and other cities. According to the CHP leader, Ozgur Ozel, around 300,000 people took part in the demonstrations despite the authorities' ban on gatherings. Clashes with Police In Istanbul, Turkish police tried to disperse crowds using pepper spray, tear gas and rubber bullets, while protesters rushed at police barricades and threw flares, stones and other objects at them. Clashes with riot police were also reported in Izmir, Ankara and other cities. According to the Associated Press (AP), police forces resorted to forceful measures at times while trying to break up demonstrations in Ankara and Izmir. Maintaining Public Order The Turkish Minister of Interior, Ali Yerlikaya, said that authorities arrested 343 suspects in the protests that took place in Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Adana, Antalya, Çanakkale, Eskişehir, Konya and Edirne over Friday night. In a post on X, Yerlikaya said that Turkish authorities will not tolerate with any attempts to 'disrupt social order, threaten the peace and security, and cause chaos and provocation.' İstanbul Cumhuriyet Başsavcılığınca yürütülen İstanbul Büyükşehir Belediyesi soruşturması ile ilgili dün gece İstanbul, Ankara, İzmir, Adana, Antalya, Çanakkale, Eskişehir, Konya ve Edirne'de meydana gelen eylemlerde 343 şüpheli yakalandı❗️ Toplumsal düzeni bozmaya, milletimizin… — Ali Yerlikaya (@AliYerlikaya) March 22, 2025 Similarly, the Turkish President, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, warned that Türkiye will not tolerate the street protests. 'We will not accept the disruption of public order,' he said during a speech in Istanbul. 'Just as we have never surrendered to street terror, we will not surrender to vandalism from now on either,' Erdogan added. Istanbul Mayor's Detention On Wednesday dawn, the police arrested Istanbul Mayor, Ekrem İmamoglu, over charges of corruption and links to a terrorist group. Authorities also detained several prominent figures, including two district mayors. The Istanbul Mayor denied all the charges. He is expected to appear before a courthouse Saturday evening for questioning by prosecutors, reported AP. İmamoglu is one of Erdogan's main political rivals, according to some opinion polls. Many view his arrest as politically-driven. The CHP condemned İmamoglu's detention as politically motivated. The opposition party will on Sunday announce Imamoglu as its presidential candidate for the next elections, set for 2028, according to Reuters. Short link : Post Views: 115
Washington Post
22-03-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Detained Istanbul mayor faces 2nd day of questioning as protests intensify
ISTANBUL — Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoglu appeared before police for questioning on terror-related charges on Saturday, a day after his interrogation over corruption allegations. His arrest this week has sparked widespread protests across Turkey, with demonstrators rallying in multiple cities to voice their opposition. The mayor, who is a popular opposition figure and seen as a top challenger to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was detained on Wednesday following a dawn raid on his residence over allegations of financial crimes and links to Kurdish militants. Dozens of other prominent figures, including two district mayors, were also detained.
Al Binaa
20-03-2025
- Politics
- Al Binaa
The Turkish Explosion
• It is difficult for any observer of the Turkish situation to accept the Turkish government's shallow narrative that the legal pursuit of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoglu on corruption and bribery charges was merely a technical judicial matter. • The eruption in Turkish streets in response to these legal and security developments reveals a deeper political divide – one that had long been simmering and merely awaited a spark. It also underscores the pivotal role that the Syrian crisis and its repercussions play in this division. • At the heart of this divide is the split within Turkey's traditional Islamist movement. On one side, the New Welfare Party champions support for Gaza and accuses President Recep Erdogan's government of secretly aiding the occupying entity economically. It questions why Turkey has not followed the example of non-Islamic nations like Bolivia and Colombia in severing ties with the entity, despite their geographical and political distance from Palestine. On the other side, Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP) pursues a neo-Ottoman agenda, using Syria as an entry point within international and regional frameworks that do not provoke the United States or Israel – an approach reinforced by the post-war dynamics in Syria. • For weeks, it seemed that the AKP's bet on this strategy was paying off. However, complications emerged as major Turkish corporations realised that the promised economic boom, driven by grand reconstruction projects in Syria, had evaporated. There was no Arab or European funding, no genuine lifting of sanctions, and the financial bubble that had formed around these expectations quickly collapsed. With Turkey's economy already suffocating, Syria had appeared to be the last viable escape route – one that has now closed. • Meanwhile, events on Syria's coast have deepened Turkey's internal divisions. The Turkish Alevi community, expressing solidarity with the victims of massacres in Syria's coastal region, has been vocally calling for Turkish intervention in a manner befitting a secular state. In stark contrast, the neo-Ottoman fascist faction within Turkey insists on shielding the Damascus government from any criticism, seeing its survival as crucial to legitimising their broader neo-Ottoman ambitions. • It is clear that the opposing forces within Turkey are mobilising all their strengths for a decisive confrontation at this critical historical moment. A growing alignment appears to be forming between Islamist factions supporting Gaza, opponents of neo-Ottoman fascism, and Kurdish, Alevi, and secular groups – an alliance poised for a defining battle that will not only shape Turkey's future but also determine the course of its regional interventions, starting with Syria.
