Now the entire world press is following you, said the leader of the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) Özgür Özel, after visiting the Silivri prison this morning, where he met with the arrested mayor of Istanbul Ekrem İmamoğlu and other detainees, the “Milli Gazete“ reported.
“Unfortunately, we are in Silivri. It is 2025. We are the first political force in the last elections. We visited Ekrem İmamoğlu, who was elected mayor of the most famous metropolis in the world three times, the district mayors Resul Emrah Şahan and Murat Çalık, as well as those detained during the protests in the “Gezi“ park. (...) Now the entire world press is following you. But this process was not initiated by me – "This is the people's reaction to the disgrace that (Turkish President) Recep Tayyip Erdogan has created," Özel said in a speech he delivered after visiting Silivri prison, quoted by the newspaper.
“The citizens took care of what came out of the ballot boxes. I say this to Erdogan, who is bursting with envy. (…) The democratic revolution has trampled on Mr. Tayyip's anti-democratic order. He has shamed his own voters. I know that the voters of the Justice and Development Party (AKP, President Erdogan's ruling party - ed.) are also ashamed. (…) We will continue to surprise, strengthen and frighten you. This holiday will be a surprise for Tayyip Erdogan. Look away as much as you want, but we will return to the people“ added Özel, addressing the Turkish president directly.
Despite Imamoglu's detention in an internal party election on March 23, he was designated as the presidential candidate of the HDP.
Imamoglu was officially removed from his post on March 23, and tomorrow, March 26, the Istanbul Metropolitan Council will elect an interim mayor in his place.
Meanwhile, protests in Turkey have not subsided after the detention of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu and a number of members of the opposition HDP. The Turkish authorities have imposed a ban on gatherings and demonstrations in Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir, but the measures have not stopped people from taking to the streets. Since March 19, more than 1,100 people, including journalists, have been detained, and more than 100 police officers have been injured as a result of the protests.