Istanbul’s embattled mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu, spent his first night in jail on Monday, just one day after being suspended from his position as mayor. His detention sparked widespread protests across Turkey, with 10 journalists being detained for covering the demonstrations.
The protests began in Istanbul following Imamoglu’s arrest on Wednesday and have since spread to more than 55 of Turkey’s 81 provinces, resulting in clashes with riot police. These protests are the largest street demonstrations in Turkey in over a decade.
Imamoglu, a popular figure seen as the only real challenger to Turkey’s long-time authoritarian president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was arrested just days before he was expected to be named the opposition candidate for the 2028 presidential election. In the span of four days, Imamoglu went from being the mayor of Istanbul — a position that helped launch Erdogan’s political career — to being jailed and stripped of his mayorship due to a graft and terror investigation.
Imamoglu’s arrest drew sharp criticism, including from France’s foreign ministry, which condemned the imprisonment as “a serious attack on democracy.” Earlier on Sunday, around 15 million people participated in a symbolic primary election organized by the opposition CHP in support of Imamoglu as the party’s presidential candidate for 2028. Observers believe the looming primary triggered the actions against Imamoglu, Erdogan’s main political rival.
On Monday, police detained 10 journalists for covering the protests, according to the MLSA rights group. Most of the detained journalists were reporting from outside City Hall, where thousands gathered on Sunday night. As has been the case on previous nights, the demonstrations turned violent, with riot police seen kicking and beating protesters as they attempted to disperse the crowds in Istanbul and other cities.
Istanbul’s governor, Davut Gul, accused the protesters of “damaging mosques and cemeteries” in a post on X, though there was no immediate information on the number of protesters arrested overnight.
