Turkey is boiling after the massive police operation, in which more than 100 businessmen, journalists and political figures were arrested, including the mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu himself.
There were reactions from the very beginning, while from 14:0, the time of the call for rallies by the opposition, thousands of people took to the streets to protest.
Although the Istanbul governor's office imposed a four-day ban on demonstrations and gatherings, citizens defy the restrictive measure and take to the streets.
International agencies are broadcasting images of protesters gathered near the Istanbul Police headquarters where, according to information, the main opponent of the Turkish president is being held.
Use of chemicals and rubber bullets against protesters
A mass rally was also held at Istanbul University, where clashes with police occurred when students broke through police barricades, local media reported.
Police used tear gas and tried to push back the protesters by shooting rubber bullets at them.
"Erdogan has gotten off the democracy train"
"Erdogan and his government are taking away from the people their right to elect whoever they want," opposition leader Ozgur Ozil told reporters in Istanbul.
President Tayyip Erdogan has distanced himself from democracy, the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) said in response to the arrest of Ekrem Imamoglu.
"Democracy was a train and Tayyip Erdogan only got on it when it suited him. Now he has got off this train and joined the ranks of the coup plotters," the Republican People's Party chairman said.
"Imamoglu, you are not alone!"
In front of the police headquarters where Imamoglu has been held since dawn, hundreds of people, at a distance from police barriers, gathered to chant "Imamoglu, you are not alone!", "Government Resign!" or "One day the scales will tip and the AKP (the ruling party) will be accountable to the people.
" "They are carrying out a coup right now against Imamoglu, who defeated Erdogan four times at the ballot box since 2019 with the will of the people," said Bulent Gulten, a protester, referring to the 2019 and 2024 municipal elections, when Imamoglu's CHP defeated the ruling party's candidates with sweeping victories in most of the country's major cities.
Turkish authorities arrested Imamoglu on charges including corruption and aiding a terrorist group, sparking protests and outcry from the opposition and government critics.
After the announcement that his detention had been reduced to a four-day detention, İmamoğlu sent his first message to his supporters.
In a handwritten note posted on his Twitter account, the Istanbul mayor stressed that the people would give an answer to lies and conspiracies.
"The lies that were told, to those who plot, lie, to those who eat the people's rights, to those who usurp the will of the people, the necessary answer will be given by our people. First God, then I trust our people..." he wrote.
İmamoğlu, the politician who is considered Erdogan's main opponent, was arrested just 24 hours before he was nominated as the CHP's candidate for the presidency in the next elections in 2028.
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