Despite the official Demonstrationsverbots As a result of the arrest and elevation of the Mayor of Istanbul and Erdogan rival, Ekrem Imamoglu (53)hundreds of thousands in Turkey took again on Sunday. The opposition speaks of one million participants in Istanbul alone. They protest against the obvious attempt by PRäsidident Recip Tayyip Erdoğanto put the opposition in the country cold.
Most of the protests are likely to have gone peacefully, but there were also violent arguments with the police during the night. She set Tear gas and pepper spray a. 1,133 suspects were arrested in “illegal demonstrations” between March 19 and March 23, 2025, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya wrote on X (formerly Twitter). According to the Journalist union were also arrested nine rapporteurs. Among them is a photographer of the news agency AFP. They had reported on the nightly protests in several cities against the arrest of the popular oppositional.
To the general strike
For Monday, the opposition and union called for new protests or a general strike. How violent the protests will be is questionable. They are already considered the greatest unrest since the Gezi-Park-Protesten 2013. And as a result of Imamoglus arrest last Wednesday, the Istanbul stock exchange crashed as massive as since Financial crisis 2008 no longer. The courses recovered easily on Monday, but the damage is done.
The Internet is the central communication hob for criticism President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. In this respect, the message caused excitement, according to which the short message service X (formerly Twitter) of Elon Musk Dutch -critical Turkish accounts are said to have blocked.
Elon Musk claims that “‘X will always fight for freedom of expression and the right of people on freedom of expression’, but then X arbitrarily censored hundreds of accounts of students and civil society,” threw the Turkish cyberrecht expert Yaman Akdeniz the US tech billionaire and its platform. Imamoglu’s statements were not censored.
Threat to media
According to the state news agency Anadolu, 56 social media users were arrested until Saturday, under the accusation of the foundation. And also the Turkish media authority RTÜK In the case of “untrue reporting”, the country’s media threatened with punishments and license withdrawal. They should not rely on partisan and untrue reporting, but “only publish official information and explanations from the responsible authorities,” wrote the head of the authority, Ebubekir Sahinon X.
The custody was imposed on imamoglu on Sunday, his construction company was confiscated and he was removed as the mayor of the metropolis. At the same time, he was voted by his party, the Social Democratic-Kemalist CHP, the presidential candidate for the next election, which takes place regularly in 2028. It is precluded that Erdogan will try to choose the election in order to be able to compete again.
For his promising opponent Imamoglu, 1.6 of the 1.7 million CHP members had spoken out. But he was also the only candidate for the largest opposition party in Turkey. In addition, solidarity boxes for imamoglu were set up across the country. According to his party, 13 million symbolic voices for Imamoglu, which according to the public prosecutor’s office, was suspected of corruption and terrorism, were given there. Around 85 million people live in Turkey.
Officially recognized candidate is of course only if the Turkish electoral authority YSK, which is considered by the government, confirms its candidacy. If the investigation against him is not set, the acceptance of his candidacy is unlikely. In addition, Imamoglu had been revoked his university degree a day before he was arrested. However, this procedure is still running. The university diploma is a prerequisite for a candidacy for the presidency.
The Federal Government in Berlin criticized the detention and removal of the Mayor of Istanbul as “absolutely unacceptable”. “This has to be informed very quickly and very transparently,” said government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit. “Political competition must not be led with courts and prisons,” it said.
And France has also criticized the procedure of the Turkish authorities. Compliance with the rights of chosen oppositional, freedom of demonstration and freedom of freedom of expression are the cornerstone of the rule of law. Turkey has also promised commitment as an EU candidate in these points.