Turkey’s protests over Istanbul mayor grow into ‘fight about democracy’

When demonstrators gathered ­at Istanbul’s city hall last week in outrage at the arrest of mayor #Ekrem #İmamoğlu,
26-year-old Azra said she was initially too scared to defy a ban on gatherings.

As protests grew on university campuses and in cities and towns across Turkey, she could no longer resist joining.

“I saw the spark in people’s eyes and the excitement on their faces, and I decided I had to come down here,” she said with a grin,
standing among tens of thousands that defied a ban on assembly to fill the streets around city hall on Friday night.

Despite the crowds, Azra feared reprisals and declined to give her full name.

Many demonstrators were masked in a bid to defy facial recognition
­technology and fearing the teargas or pepper spray sometimes deployed by the police.

Others smiled and took ­selfies to celebrate as fireworks illuminated the night sky.

The arrest of the mayor of Turkey’s largest city in a dawn raid last week was a watershed moment in the country’s prolonged shift away from democracy.

Opponents of president #Recep #Tayyip #Erdogan fear it is a move to ­sideline the sole challenger capable of defeating him in upcoming elections, expected before 2028.

Early on Sunday, prosecutors requested the formal arrest and jailing pending trial of İmamoğlu, who was being held pending a court decision.

On Saturday, protests in support of İmamoğlu erupted in Istanbul
– where flares and stones where thrown at police, who responded with pepper spray
– while in Ankara, the capital, police used water cannon and tear gas on demonstrators.

The interior minister, Ali Yerlikaya, said 323 people had been detained following protests on Saturday night.

Earlier, he said: “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.”

During the week, İmamoğlu and more than 100 other people including municipal officials and the head of the mayor’s construction firm were served ­detention orders and accused of embezzlement and corruption
– charges the mayor denies.

He also denies terrorism charges levelled at him over collaboration with a leftwing political coalition prior to local elections last year, which saw major losses for Erdoğan’s Justice and Development party (AKP).

Justice minister Yılmaz Tunç attempted to rebuff any suspicion the charges against İmamoğlu and ­others from the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) were ­politicised.

“Attempting to associate judicial investigations and cases with our president is, to say the least,
an act of audacity and irresponsibility,” he said.

Within days, what began as protests in response to İmamoğlu’s detention has grown into something more.

“This is bigger than İmamoğlu. It’s about a fight for democracy, law and equal rights,” said Azra as demonstrators massed around her.

The Turkish president has long sought to retake Istanbul from opposition control, fuelling protesters’ joy at defying a ban on gatherings in the city where Erdoğa began his ­political career as mayor.

Standing outside a metro station as hundreds of cheering people poured into the street,
breaking into anti-government chants and banging on the escalators,
another protester, named Diler, called the demonstrations
“a response to the pressure that has built up over years”.

“There are problems with the ­economy, with education, with the health ­system,” she said in a nod to the ­economic ­crisis that has seen the cost of ­living soar.
“We are fed up with this government.”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/mar/22/turkey-protests-istanbul-mayor-grow-into-fight-about-democracy?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other