The leader of Turkey's main opposition party, the Republican People's Party (CHP), has called for a boycott of companies that ignore the protests in the country sparked by the arrest of Ekrem Imamoglu, the ousted mayor of Istanbul and a political rival of President Tayyip Erdogan.
CHP leader Özgür Özel is scheduled to visit İmamoğlu in prison today, where he was sent after a court ruled on Sunday that he remain in custody on corruption charges in the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality.
At a rally last night in front of the central building of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality in Saraçhane Park in Istanbul, Özel called for a boycott of a number of companies and establishments.
„If they don't want to see you, they don't want to see what's happening in Saraçhane, then you should boycott them "Collapse to the ground. Don't buy from them, don't drink coffee at them," said Özel, listing companies and restaurant chains that he said were ignoring the protests. Among those mentioned were a chain of cafes, carpet and furniture companies, gas stations, etc.
A day earlier, Özel called for a boycott of pro-government media outlets for not covering the protests.
Last night, despite the bans on gatherings and demonstrations in force in Istanbul, Izmir and Ankara, a sixth protest rally was held in solidarity with the ousted and imprisoned mayor of Istanbul. Tens of thousands of people of all ages, carrying red flags, gathered at the rally in Saraçhane. Many young people, students, representatives of labor unions, led by the Confederation of Revolutionary Workers' Trade Unions DISK, opposition parties, and parents with children also participated. The participants raised slogans in support of Ekrem İmamoğlu, chanted calls for the resignation of Erdogan and the government.
In his speech to the participants in the rally, Özel pointed out that Ekrem İmamoğlu should be tried in freedom and called for the trial to be broadcast live on state television TRT.
The leader of the Turkish opposition said that he would visit the mayor in Silivri prison today.
Early this morning, Istanbul police detained a total of 41 participants in the protests in Saraçhane, suspected of “insulting President Erdogan and his family, violating the ban on gatherings and demonstrations, and disobeying a law enforcement officer“, the Anadolu Agency reported.
In recent days, protests have erupted in many cities in Turkey against the detention of the mayor of Istanbul and a number of members of the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP). Imamoglu was detained on March 19 as part of investigations into corruption and terrorism. However, he was named the AKP's presidential candidate in an internal party election on March 23. Imamoglu is currently in prison custody awaiting trial and has been removed from his mayoral post, and the Istanbul City Council will elect an interim mayor in his place at a meeting tomorrow.
The government has categorically rejected accusations that the prosecution of Imamoglu and his associates is political. After a cabinet meeting yesterday, Erdogan urged the opposition to stop disrupting public order and hold the corruption accountable.