Thousands of protesters took to the streets of Istanbul to express their disagreement with the arrest and removal from office of the city's former mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, which occurred exactly 100 days ago, reports DPA, quoted by News.bg.
In front of the city administration building, the demonstrators chanted slogans such as “Against fascism, shoulder to shoulder“ and “President Imamoglu“. The protest was organized by the main opposition force, the Republican People's Party (CHP).
Imamoğlu, considered one of the most popular opposition politicians and a potential rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was arrested and removed from office on March 23. A number of his associates and party supporters were subsequently detained.
However, the CHP announced Imamoğlu as its presidential candidate. The next regular presidential elections in Turkey are scheduled for 2028.
The protest coincided with another serious challenge for the party - more than 100 people were arrested in Izmir a day earlier on corruption-related charges. According to the opposition, the authorities' actions are part of a large-scale political repression in which the judiciary is used as a tool of the ruling party.
The government denies these accusations. President Erdogan has repeatedly stated that the country's judiciary is independent.
The Republican People's Party (CHP) is the largest opposition party in Turkey and has emerged as the leading political party after the recent local elections. The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has fallen to second place nationally for the first time in its history.