The challenge continued on Tuesday 25 March in Türkiye almost a week after the arrest Wednesday of Ekrem Imamoglu, the main political rival of the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The authorities announced on Tuesday morning the arrest of 43 “Provocateurs” After a new night of rallies in several cities in the country, shaken by an unprecedented challenge since the Gezi movement, who has left the Taksim square in Istanbul, in 2013.
In total, “1,418 suspects were arrested at this stage during illegal demonstrations since March 19”wrote on the social network X the Minister of the Turkish Interior, Ali Yerlikaya, who also reported that 979 demonstrators were in police custody Tuesday, while 478 people had been referred to courts.
Among them is Yasin Akgül, a photographer from the France-Presse agency (AFP), arrested on Monday at dawn, at his home. A Turkish judge ordered his placement in pre -trial detention on Tuesday. He is accused of having participated in an illegal rally, which he refutes, claiming to have only covered the demonstration in question. The NGO Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemned a “Scandalous decision [qui] reflects a serious situation in progress in Türkiye ”.
A prosecutor of Istanbul also asked for the incarceration of six other journalists arrested at their home on Monday, after having initially required their release under judicial supervision, according to the lawyer of one of them to AFP.
Prohibited manifestations
Faced with the protest, the governorate of Ankara, the capital, extended Tuesday until 1er April includes a prohibition to demonstrate. The authorities made a similar decision to Izmir, the third city in the country and the bastion of the opposition, until March 29.
The same ban has been in force for six days in Istanbul, and several tens of thousands of people have braved it again on Monday evening to converge in front of the municipality's headquarters. Police violently dispersed the demonstrators, according to AFP.
Özgür Özel, the leader of the People's Republican Party (CHP, Social Democrat), the main force of the Turkish opposition to which the imprisoned mayor of Istanbul belongs, called for a new rally on Tuesday evening.
Sign of the shock wave triggered by the arrest of Mr. Imamoglu, demonstrations took place last week in at least 55 of the 81 provinces of the country, according to AFP.
Source: Lemonde