Police use force to break up protests at a university in Turkey’s capital
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ISTANBUL — Police used pepper spray, plastic pellets and water cannon against protesters in Turkey’s capital early Thursday, the latest clash in the country’s biggest antigovernment protests in over a decade.
The demonstrations began last week following the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, a key rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Imamoglu was jailed pending trial on corruption charges many see as politically motivated and is also accused of supporting terrorism. The government insists the judiciary is independent, but critics say the evidence is based on secret witnesses and lacks credibility.
Early Thursday, student demonstrators tried to march and gathered to read a statement near the gates at Middle East Technical University, pro-opposition broadcaster Halk TV and local media reported. They were met by security forces who deployed pepper spray, water cannon and plastic pellets. A standoff ensued where the students hid behind a barricade of dumpsters until the police charged to detain them.
The state-run Anadolu Agency said prosecutors issued warrants for the mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu, and some 100 other people.
Melih Meric, a legislator with Imamoglu’s Republican People’s Party or CHP, was seen soaked with water and suffering from pepper spray exposure.
“My student friends only wanted to make a press statement, but the police strictly did not allow it, this is the result,” Meric said in social media videos.
Nearly 1,900 arrested
Interior Minister Ali Yerkikaya said Thursday that nearly 1,900 people have been arrested over eight days of massive protests across the country. He said that 1,879 suspects were detained, including 260 who were jailed pending trial. A further 468 were released under judicial control while their cases continue. Proceedings are ongoing for 662 other people.
The minister said some faced charges for drug offenses and assault, adding that 150 police officers had been injured. He did not specify the nature of other charges but offenses such as resisting police and not complying with a ban on protests and gatherings have been cited previously.
Demonstrations involving hundreds of thousands of largely peaceful protesters have swept across major cities, including opposition-organized rallies outside Istanbul City Hall. Other major protests have been held in Istanbul’s districts of Kadikoy and Sisli districts in recent days.
A media workers’ union says Turkish authorities have detained several journalists from their homes.
Some demonstrations have been marred by violence as police used water cannons, tear gas, plastic pellets and pepper spray to break up protests that have been banned in Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir.
Police continued to carry out house raids targeting protesters Thursday morning. Most of those detained in their homes appear to belong to left-wing parties, trade unions and civil society groups.
Eleven journalists were arrested and sent to jail Wednesday after covering the protests. At least eight were released under judicial control a day later, the Media and Law Studies Assn. said, but still face charges relating to the protests.
Turkey’s broadcasting authority, meanwhile, issued a 10-day airwave ban on opposition-supported channel Sozcu TV, the station said. The penalty was issued for “inciting the public to hatred and hostility” during broadcasts leading up to Imamoglu’s imprisonment.
Radio and Television Supreme Council member Ilhan Tasci said that other channels backing the opposition were fined and handed program suspensions over their protest coverage.
The arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu has intensified political tensions, triggering Turkey’s largest wave of protests in more than a decade.
BBC reporter Mark Lowen was deported from Turkey following his arrest Wednesday, the British news broadcaster said. He was detained at his hotel and held for 17 hours before being issued a notice describing him as a “threat to public order,” according to a BBC statement Thursday.
Mayor and more than 100 others pending trial
Imamoglu, the Istanbul mayor, was detained in a dawn raid on his home last Wednesday and later remanded to prison. He faces charges stemming from two investigations into the opposition-controlled Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality — a corruption case and one alleging support for terrorism.
The mayor is the main challenger to Erdogan in an election currently scheduled for 2028 but which is likely to take place earlier.
Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said Thursday that 106 people had been arrested in both municipality investigations, with 51 in jail pending trial, including Imamoglu. Those detained include municipal officials and business figures accused of crimes such as bribery, extortion and bid-rigging.
Many see the case against Imamoglu as politically motivated. Protesters often say they have come out against Turkey’s democratic backsliding and increasing authoritarianism, as well as the country’s bleak economic outlook.
Imamoglu was confirmed as the CHP candidate for presidential elections the same day he was sent to prison He has performed well in recent polls against Erdogan, and his election as mayor of Turkey’s largest city in 2019 was a major blow to the president.
Badendieck and Wilks write for the Associated Press.
