Turkish authorities have detained 343 people at protests against the arrest of Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, which took place last night in several cities, Reuters reported, citing the Turkish Interior Ministry.
Demonstrations were held in more than a dozen cities, including Istanbul and the capital Ankara.
The ministry said the arrests were made to prevent “public order violations“, and warned that authorities would not tolerate “chaos and provocations“.
Tens of thousands of Turks have taken part in mostly peaceful demonstrations since Wednesday, when Imamoglu was detained on charges of corruption and aiding a terrorist group.
In Istanbul, 140 people who were live-streaming the protest demonstration in Istanbul last night in front of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, as well as the student protests, on social media.
According to information from the opposition TV channel Sözcü, over 200,000 people participated in the protest rally in front of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality.
According to opposition media, a total of around 1 million people have participated in the three consecutive rallies so far since Imamoğlu's detention in Istanbul, Izmir, Sinop, Trabzon and Mersin. people
Despite the cold weather and clashes with police, the rally in Istanbul continued until midnight.
Cumhuriyet TV reported that police in Izmir, Kocaeli and Izmit used tear gas against demonstrators.
Imamoglu is considered the virtually certain candidate of the main opposition party, the Republican People's Party (CHP), for the 2028 presidential election. He is leading in opinion polls ahead of current President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Reuters reports.
The CHP condemned Imamoglu's arrest and called on its supporters to demonstrate peacefully despite the ban imposed by the authorities. The leader of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Özgür Özel called on voters to turn out in large numbers to vote in the local elections for presidential candidate İmamoğlu, which will be held tomorrow.
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya and Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç condemned Özel's call for protests and described it as "irresponsible", the pro-government newspaper “Daily Sabah“ reported.
An attack on the Iraqi Consulate General in Istanbul took place late last night, Turkish media reported. Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Yönüçü Keçeli said the building of the Iraqi Consulate General, located in the Şişli district, was fired upon by two people who arrived in the area on a motorbike. According to the Iraqi embassy, eight bullets were fired at the building.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry condemned the attack.