Turkey protests: 1,133 detained amid unrest over president's main rival being jailed

23 March 2025, 18:44 | Updated: 24 March 2025, 12:02

More than 1,000 people have been detained in Turkey after five nights of demonstrations against the arrest of the Turkish president's main rival.

Ekrem Imamoglu, the mayor of Istanbul, was detained over corruption charges on Wednesday - sparking protests in cities including Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir.

He was formally arrested and jailed pending trial on Sunday, galvanising a fifth night of protests which saw hundreds of thousands of people fill Istanbul's streets - where police used pepper spray and fired rubber bullets into the crowd.

Turkey's interior minister has now said 1,133 people were detained between 19 March and 23 March in a post on X.

"Terrorizing our streets and threatening the peace and security of our nation will absolutely not be tolerated," Ali Yerlikaya wrote.

He said 123 police officers had been injured in the protests, with acid, fireworks, Molotov cocktails and knives being seized.

Reporting from Istanbul on Sunday evening, Sky News' special correspondent Alex Crawford described the protests as "relatively peaceful" but said they were "the biggest protests Turkey has seen in more than a decade".

The huge demonstrations continued despite a ban on gatherings in Istanbul - but many protesters hid their faces with masks.

Most protesters did not want to speak on camera as they were scared of being recognised, Crawford said, but they took to the streets because "they feel their democracy is being eroded".

She said questions remained over how long authorities would allow these protests to continue - and whether they will escalate into a real crisis for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The protests intensified after Mr Imamoglu was charged on Sunday with running a criminal organisation, accepting bribes, extortion, illegally recording personal data and bid-rigging. A request to detain Mr Imamoglu on terror-related charges was denied.

Following the ruling, he was transferred to Silivri prison, west of Istanbul.

Mr Imamoglu has labelled all of the claims "unimaginable accusations and slanders".

Many view his detention as a political move to remove him from the 2028 presidential race - deepening concerns over the country's democracy and the rule of law.

The Turkish government denies Mr Imamoglu's arrest was politically motivated and says the courts are independent.

Mr Erdogan has served as Turkey's president since his Justice and Development Party (AKP) came to power in 2003.

Its biggest opponent in the next election looks set to be the Republican People's Party (CHP), which this weekend began holding a primary presidential election to endorse Mr Imamoglu, their only presidential candidate.

The party also set up solidarity boxes where non-members could show their support - and at the time of last night's protest, more than 13 million had done so, according to the CHP.

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In a post on social media, Mr Imamoglu praised the result, saying the people had told Mr Erdogan: "Enough is enough."

"That ballot box will arrive and the nation will deliver a slap to the administration it will never forget," he added.

Mr Imamoglu - who could be prevented from running for president if he is convicted - was one of 48 people jailed pending trial over the weekend. The others being held include a key aide and two Istanbul district mayors.

While the protests have largely been peaceful, there has been some violence in Istanbul, as well as other cities including Ankara and Izmir.

Clashes have seen police deploy water cannon, tear gas and pepper spray at protesters, some of whom threw stones and fireworks at riot officers.