Tens of thousands in cities around Turkiye protested on Saturday against the arrest of a prominent opposition politician.
Citizens defied a ban on gathering and took to the streets, with supporters of the opposition politician describing the charges as politicised. These are Turkiye’s largest protests in more than a decade.
Here’s what you need to know about the mass protests and what’s happening in Turkiye.
Why are there protests in Turkiye?
People took to the streets over the arrest of Ekrem Imamoglu, Istanbul’s mayor and a potential opposition candidate in the upcoming Turkish presidential election.
His supporters say the charges are politicised and aimed at blocking him from running for president in three years.
Some protesters however say this is bigger than Imamoglu and represents wider struggles, including concerns with democracy, the economy, education, and healthcare systems.
When did the protests start?
The protests began on Wednesday, the same day Imamoglu was arrested, with thousands gathering at Istanbul University to decry the arrest.
They have continued since, with the largest protest to date on Saturday evening.
Who is Ekrem Imamoglu and what happened to him?
He is the mayor of Istanbul and a potential candidate in the next presidential election with the Republican People’s Party (CHP).
The 53-year-old took office in 2019 and was re-elected in 2024.
On March 19, Imamoglu was arrested, with more than 100 other people, by Turkish police on charges of corruption and allegedly aiding an outlawed political group.
A day earlier, Istanbul University had revoked his degree, which would make him ineligible for running for president. He had a bachelor’s in business administration and a master’s in human resource management.
The university claimed there were irregularities in his diploma after he transferred from a private university in northern Cyprus.
The move came just days before the CHP was set to choose its candidate in the 2028 presidential election.
What has he been charged with?
Imamoglu was initially charged with corruption, bribery and “terrorism”.
Istanbul prosecutors said Imamoglu led a criminal organisation engaging in systematic fraud, bid-rigging, embezzlement, and bribery, according to Anadolu Agency (AA), the Turkish newswire.
He was also accused of aiding the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which Turkiye, the United States and the European Union consider a terrorist group.
“Prosecutors allege that Imamoglu took part in an ‘urban consensus’ initiative tied to the People’s Democratic Congress [HDK], a pro-terrorist PKK entity, before Turkiye’s March 2024 local elections,” AA reported.
According to Turkish media, the “urban consensus” was an effort to give Kurdish actors more influence in municipal politics.
On Sunday, the court ruled that Imamoglu be jailed without bail pending trial on the corruption charges.
The “terrorism” charges, however, were dropped. A Turkish court held up the corruption charges, saying: “Although there is a strong suspicion of aiding an armed terrorist organisation, since it has already been decided that he will be arrested for financial crimes, (his arrest) is not deemed necessary at this stage.”
Since Imamoglu was not charged with “terror” charges, the court won’t be able to appoint a government trustee to the municipality of Istanbul, Al Jazeera’s Sinem Koseoglu reported, adding that the mayor will be elected from within the municipal council.
What did he say about these charges so far?
Imamoglu denied the charges.
“I see today during my interrogation that I and my colleagues are faced with unimaginable accusations and slanders,” Imamoglu said Saturday in his defence during a hearing, according to a document seen by the Reuters news agency.
“I strongly reject all allegations.”
He has posted on his page on X, formerly Twitter, thanking international actors for supporting him and the protesters who have taken to the streets.
A mother’s heart speaks the deepest truth.
For all the mothers and the children of Türkiye and their future, we must persevere. pic.twitter.com/lto9h8TCcd
— Ekrem İmamoğlu (International) (@imamoglu_int) March 20, 2025
What did President Erdogan say?
On Friday, Turkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivered a public speech where he said the justice system should be allowed to do its job without interference.
He denounced the protests, labelling them as “street terror” and saying: “We will not accept the disruption of public order.
“Pointing to the streets instead of courtrooms to defend theft, plunder, lawlessness and fraud is a grave irresponsibility,” Erdogan said.
“Just as we have not surrendered to street terrorism until now, we will not bow to vandalism in the future, either.”
CHP’ye çökmüş bir avuç paragözün asırlık partiyi parmağında oynatması, “Gazi’nin emaneti” diyerek CHP’ye oy veren insanlarımızı da üzüyor.
Emin olun, samimi CHP’li vatandaşlarımız da İSKİ skandalından 32 yıl sonra aynı rezilliklere tekrar şahit olmayı içlerine sindiremiyor. pic.twitter.com/1D4UVCWoOe
— Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (@RTErdogan) March 22, 2025
Translation: The fact that a handful of greedy people who have become attached to the CHP are manipulating the century-old party is also upsetting our people who voted for the CHP, saying it is “the legacy of the Ghazi”.
Be assured, our sincere CHP citizens cannot stomach witnessing the same disgrace again 32 years after the İSKİ scandal.
How big are the protests?
At least tens of thousands have taken to Istanbul’s streets.
Opposition leader Ozgur Ozel said more than 300,000 people had joined the protest, and they 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.
These are Istanbul’s biggest anti-government protests since the Gezi Park demonstrations in 2013.
Protesters threw stones and flares at Turkish police, who responded with pepper spray. In Turkiye’s capital Ankara, protesters were met with police water cannons and tear gas.
Ali Yerlikaya, Turkiye’s interior minister, said 323 people had been detained after Saturday night’s protests.
“There will be no tolerance for those who seek to violate societal order, threaten the people’s peace and security, and pursue chaos and provocation,” he said.
When is the presidential election?
The next scheduled election is in 2028.
But early elections are thought to be likely.
