The leader of Turkey's main opposition party said that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had abandoned democracy. Özgür Özel said this after the detention of Ekrem Imamoglu, the mayor of Istanbul and Erdogan's main political rival, Reuters reported, BTA reported.
"Democracy was a train and Tayyip Erdogan rode it only as long as it was convenient for him. "Now he has got off the train and joined the ranks of the coup plotters," Republican People's Party (CHP) chairman Özgür Özel told reporters in Istanbul.
For his part, the deputy chairman of the CHP parliamentary group, Ali Mahir Başarer, called the Turkish president a "coward" and accused him of trying to move from democracy to "autocracy" with "dirty court decisions", DPA reported.
He spoke during a parliamentary session in Ankara as lawmakers chanted "Rights, legality, justice". "I am paying attention to one person. You will fall with your tyranny. You will leave with the answer of 86 million (Turks). You are a coward," Başarer said.
The speaker interrupted the session, after which the HDP deputies left the parliament, carrying Turkish flags and chanting as they moved towards the opposition party's headquarters, located about 8 kilometers away, the agency noted.
Turkish authorities detained Ekrem İmamoğlu on several charges, including leading a criminal organization, bribery and supporting a terrorist group, just days before his expected nomination by the HDP as a presidential candidate.
Students supporting detained Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu broke through a police barricade at Istanbul University today during a demonstration, prompting police to intervene with tear gas, DPA reported, citing local media, BTA reports.
The demonstration was organized after the main opposition force – The Republican People's Party (CHP) has called for nationwide protests over the detention of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, a popular political rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The CHP has called on supporters to gather in front of party headquarters across the country.
In Istanbul, Turkey's largest city with a population of more than 16 million, protests will not be possible due to a several-day ban on demonstrations issued by the governor, the opposition party said. The governor, who is appointed by Erdogan, governs the Istanbul administrative district.
Imamoglu was detained just days before his expected official nomination as a presidential candidate, DPA reported. The CHP condemned the arrest as a “civil coup“.
The mayor's wife – Dilek İmamoğlu holds Erdogan responsible for Ekrem İmamoğlu's detention, DPA reported. The real reason for his arrest is that he defeated his opponents at the ballot box, Dilek İmamoğlu said in a video message.
The Council of Europe condemned the arrest of the mayor of Istanbul and several other senior representatives of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) as an “action against the will of the people“, Reuters reported.
“This action reveals all the hallmarks of pressure on political figures“, the Council of Europe said in a statement. The institution said it would raise the issue during the congress of local and regional authorities, which will be held next week.
The Istanbul Chief Prosecutor's Office has filed charges of “corruption, taking bribes and collaborating with terrorists“ against Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu and over 100 others. Imamoglu is considered the most likely candidate of the HDP for the presidential race, although a formal decision on this is due on March 23.