Turkey's Erdogan continues crackdown on protesters following arrest of main rival on corruption charges

The caller apprehension of Istanbul's Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu and main rival of President Erdoğan has sparked the largest protests successful Turkey successful a decade, with implicit 1,100 radical detained successful demonstrations crossed the country.

The Istanbul politician and 106 different municipal officials and politicians were detained connected March 19 for what Human Rights Watch called a politically motivated determination to stifle lawful governmental activities.

"By forcing Imamoglu retired of politics, the authorities has crossed the enactment that separates Turkey’s competitory authoritarian authorities from a full, Russian-style autocracy successful which the president handpicks his opponents and elections are purely for show," Gonul Tol, Director of Turkish Program astatine the Middle East Institute, told Fox News Digital.

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Police officers usage capsicum spray connected demonstrators during a protestation connected the time Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu was jailed arsenic portion of a corruption investigation, successful Istanbul, Turkey, March 23, 2025. (Alexandros Avramidis/Reuters)

A spokesperson from Turkey's embassy successful Washington, D.C., told Fox News Digital that Turkey’s Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said 1,133 radical person been detained since the apprehension of the mayor, and astir 123 constabulary officers person been injured since the commencement of protests. Yerlikaya besides alleged that weapons were seized during the protests and the individuals detained were recovered to person ties to antithetic violent organizations and anterior transgression records.

Some experts judge the determination was orchestrated by Erdoğan to sideline the opposition, soundlessness governmental dissent and summation his ain power.

"This is simply a acheronian clip for ideology successful Turkey, with specified a blatantly lawless determination to weaponize the justness strategy to cancel the antiauthoritarian process," Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia Director astatine Human Rights Watch, told Fox News Digital successful a statement.

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Some experts judge the determination was orchestrated by Erdoğan to sideline the opposition, soundlessness governmental dissent and summation his ain power. (Turkish presidency/Reuters)

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In an code to observe the festival of Nowruz connected Friday, Erdoğan said Turkey was not a state that was recovered connected the thoroughfare and volition not taxable to thoroughfare terrorism.

"We volition not let nationalist bid to beryllium damaged. We volition not springiness successful to vandalism oregon thoroughfare terrorism," Erdoğan said, according to Reuters.

The absorption Republican People’s Party (CHP) held a symbolic superior ballot implicit the play and nominated İmamoğlu to beryllium the party’s campaigner for president to look Erdoğan successful the 2028 elections.

Despite the accrued repression and threats to their ain information and security, the Turkish absorption does not yet look to beryllium backing down.

"We, arsenic the main absorption enactment that emerged arsenic the archetypal enactment successful the past section elections successful March 2024, volition basal steadfast and defy immoderate benignant of oppression by the government," İlhan Uzgel, CHP Deputy Chairman for Foreign Policy, told Fox News Digital.

Uzgel said Erdoğan seems frightened of losing power, and is urging absorption supporters to instrumentality to the streets to support democracy, situation lawlessness, and situation the Erdoğan government's maltreatment of power.  

"We are blessed to spot that our radical instrumentality to the streets contempt the occasional usage of unit by the riot police, and show peacefully, which is simply a law right," helium added.

Imamoglu, who is presently jailed and is awaiting proceedings connected corruption charges, was viewed arsenic the astir superior challenger to the decades-long regularisation of Erdoğan. His detention volition apt support him retired of the governmental absorption for the foreseeable future, dealing a immense stroke to Turkey’s pro-democracy movement. 

Tol of the Middle East Institute said Erdoğan is banking connected people’s choler dissipating implicit clip and that the wide protests volition yet dice down. The predetermination is not scheduled until 2028, and people, Erdoğan hopes, volition astir apt hide and determination on.

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People stitchery extracurricular the City Hall to protestation the apprehension of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu successful Istanbul, Turkey, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (Francisco Seco/AP Photo)

The danger, according to Tol, is that thoroughfare protests successful the Middle East and elsewhere thin to spell successful galore antithetic directions, and determination is nary telling however agelong the nationalist choler implicit the arrests volition past and however overmuch much fashionable enactment the question volition gain.

İmamoğlu, subordinate of the secular Republican People’s Party (CHP), was elected politician of Istanbul successful 2019 and re-elected successful 2023. In some elections, helium defeated Erdoğan-backed opponents. 

Turkey’s problems travel astatine a clip erstwhile President Trump is reportedly considering lifting sanctions connected the NATO subordinate and resuming the merchantability of F-35 combatant jets pursuing a caller telephone telephone with Erdoğan.

Reuters contributed to this article.