Erdogan describes demonstrations as a street terror – diepresse.com

The Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan described the demonstrations as « street terror » after the arrest of the Mayor of Istanbul Ekrem Ekrem. « Turkey will not result in the road terror, » said Erdoğan. The opposition tries to use the investigation as an excuse to plunge the streets into the « chaos ». The CHP Losing « their status as a party that acts on a legitimate political basis, » said Turkish head of state.

The 71-year-old warned supporter of his detained opponent Imamoglu of rallies at the weekend. He would not accept disorders of public order, he said, « just as we have never given in terrorism, we will not give way to vandalism. »

With a view to the allegations raised against Imamoglu, Erdoğan emphasized: « It is deeply irresponsible to refer to the street to defend theft, looting, illegality and fraud instead of going to court. »

Meanwhile, the protests also took the third day in a row. For Friday IMAMOGLUS supporters in several cities called for demonstrations. In Istanbul, the police used tear gas and rubber floor to prevent demonstrators from getting to the central Taksim-Platz. This had played a central role in the massive protests against the Erdoğan government in 2013 and was sealed off on Wednesday. The Istanbul governor's office announced additional roadblocks – including on that street in front of the city administration, where extensive demonstrations had taken place on the past two evenings.

More cities impose demonstration ban

According to Istanbul, other cities in Turkey also banned a demonstration. In the capital Ankara, a demonstration and assembly ban applies for five days up to and including Tuesday (March 25), as the governor's office announced. The Governor offices of the port city of Izmir and the province of Manisa also shared the same. The government warned of protests. Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc called the calls to the demonstrations based on ongoing legal investigations « illegal and unacceptable ». According to the Interior Ministry, 53 people have so far been arrested in the protests. 16 police officers were injured in incidents.

Dozens of people were also arrested by the authorities for critical contributions on online platforms. The authorities had identified 326 suspicious owners of online accounts for « incitement to criminal offenses », said Interior Minister Yerlikaya on x with. 72 of them lived abroad. 54 suspects were arrested, and the other suspects are also used. The previous day there were 37 arrests. The restrictions on social media in Istanbul that have persisted since Wednesday have meanwhile been lifted again. Access to portals and services such as X, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Tiktok, Telegram, Signal and WhatsApp from Istanbul was not possible for around 42 hours.

Imamoglu is said to be the leader of « criminal organization »

Imamoglu, who is considered one of the promising rivals of long -term president Erdoğan, was arrested in his house on Wednesday after a raid. In addition to him, more than a hundred other people were arrested, including employees, MPs and CHP members. On Sunday, Imamoglu was to be officially nominated for his party's candidate for the upcoming presidential election.

According to the public prosecutor, the 53-year-old mayor of Istanbul is accused of corruption and extortion. He is accused of being the leader of a « criminal organization ». According to the Ministry of Justice, another accusation is « support of terrorism ». It is about alleged connections to the forbidden workers' party in Kurdistan (PKK).

Recognition of university diploma

On Tuesday, the University of Istanbul Imamoglu revealed its conclusion acquired there due to supposedly « obvious mistakes ». The politician could thus be excluded from a candidacy in the presidential election, for which a university diploma is a prerequisite. (APA/AFP)