Protesters rally in Turkiye as Imamoglu jailed

The arrest of Istanbul’s notorious opposition figure, prominent Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, has caused Turkiye’s most significant street unrest in years.

Imamoglu was taken from his mayoral position on Sunday and transferred to Silivri Prison on the outskirts of Istanbul just four days after being arrested in a pre-awn raid involving hundreds of policemen.

A court order mandates his formal arrest on corruption charges, which he is currently in jail. A separate “terrorism” investigation was not formalized by the court. His position as mayor of Turkiye’s largest city was suspended by the Ministry of Interior.

Officials in the government have refuted claims that the opposition figure’s legal action is politically motivated and have argued that Turkiye’s courts are independent.

However, the authorities demanded the closure of hundreds of social media accounts as the protests raged.

More than 700 X accounts, including those belonging to “news organizations, journalists, political figures, students, and others within Turkiye,” were targeted, according to the X company.

X affirmed its commitment to defending free speech through legal means, branding the government’s action as “unlawful.”

However, it is reported that the US company has suspended a number of accounts, some of whom were involved in helping to coordinate the protests.

Many of the citizens who had previously supported Imamoglu in previous elections were angered by the crackdown.

In Istanbul, protesters were confronted with water cannons, and riot police used pepper spray and rubber bullets to repel them.

Source: Aljazeera