At least 340 people are arrested in Türkiye in protest against government

The day before, despite the ban on the government and police barricades, thousands of protesters – 100,000 according to estimates from the Turkish press – met outside the Istanbul City Hall, where the leader of the People’s Republican Party (CHP), Özgür Özel, spoke to the crowd.

“Yes, Erdogan is trying to eliminate his rivals by illegal means. We will overthrow this government,” he said. “The world and Turkey see that Erdogan’s oppressive regime is trembling, is about to collapse,” added the ChP leader, who opposes Erdogan and asked for pressure on the streets to continue until Sunday.

According to an AFP news agency count, demonstrations occurred in at least 55 of the 81 provinces of Türkiye so far. On Friday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a speech that the authorities “would not allow public order to be harmed” and promised not to “give in to vandalism or street terrorism.”

Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu was arrested on Wednesday as part of the investigation into corruption, bribery and manipulation of municipal bids, which are accused about 100 other defendants, almost all detained.

The mayor’s arrest occurred a few days before his expected appointment as a presidential candidate for the opposition.