ISTANBUL: The Turki had led the fourth direct night of late protests on Saturday, as the biggest road disturbance of more than a decade on the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu has seen over a decade over a decade.
Imamoglu denied allegations of terrorism brought against him, according to a court document Roots On Saturday, after being detained by Türkiye for alleged corruption and terrorism.
Imamoglu said in his defense, “I see during my interrogation today that I and my colleagues face unimaginable allegations and condenses.”
Imamoglu said, “This infamy will jump back after killing the walls in the heart of our nation.”
As the crowd started massaging outside the Istanbul City Hall, a convoy carrying a 53 -year -old mayor reached Kagalayan court on the other side of the city, said a spokesman for his administration.
Outside the court, the police installed a tight security cordon with about 20 anti-ritual vehicles on Standby, while some 500 protesters were standing nearby, said: “Show to shoulder against fascism!” One AFP The reporter said.
He was arrested on Wednesday, a few days before that he was to be formally named as the main opposition CHP candidate for the 2028 presidential race.
30 -year -old Aykut Cenk said, “We are here today to stand for the candidate that we voted.” AFP Outside the court, holding a Turkish flag.
“People like people taken to the streets to stand on the streets to stand for Erdogan after the coup on 15 July (2016), now we are taking the streets to Imamoglu,” said Senak.
“We are not enemies of the state, but what is happening is illegal.”
Journalists ‘targeted’
The protests started in Istanbul on Wednesday and since then spread to at least 55 of the 81 provinces of the Turkas, with the main city of Diyarbakir in the Kurdish-Bahul southeast, saying that it would participate on Saturday as well.
Since Thursday, the riot police have repeatedly collided with the protesters, deploying tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannon against them in Istanbul, Rajdhani Ankara and Western coastal city of Ismir.
Despite the protest ban and a warning from Erdogan in the three largest cities of Turkas, unrest has spread rapidly that the authorities will not tolerate “Street Terror”.
The police arrested 343 protesters, said internal minister Ali Yralikaya.
The Turki’s Journalist Association said on Saturday that the police had “deliberately targeted” by the police, many people were severely beaten, shot with rubber bullets and the equipment was broken “.
“We condemn the huge and completely arbitrary riot police violence against journalists,” said “Those responsible people should be severely punished”, “said Errol Ondoglu, a border (RSF) reporters, said,” Those responsible people should be severely punished “.
Already named in the increasing list of legal investigation, Imamoglu-who were re-elected last year-have been accused of “supporting and hating a terrorist organization”, ie the banned Kurdish terrorist group PKK.
He is also investigating “bribery, forced recovery, corruption, enlarged fraud, and also to obtain personal data for benefit as part of a criminal organization”.
“Mr. Imamoglu denied all the allegations against him,” one of his lawyers, Mehmat Pehlivan, said, on Friday, the police was questioned by the police for six hours on the graft charge after the Mayor.
The anti -Kurdish opposition Dame party, in which its own elected mayors have been removed in the last one year and have been replaced by the government -appointed trustees, have also thrown their support behind the protests.
Addressing the crowd late Friday night, CHP leader Ozgur Ozel said that 300,000 people had joined Istanbul protest that night.
Several hours ago, Erdogan accused Ojel of “serious irresponsible” in calling for protests, increasing the possibility that the CHP leader may also face legal approval.
The move against Imamoglu has hurt Turkish Lira and Financial Markets, the Stock Exchange’s BIST 100 index has reduced by about eight percent on Friday.
