Thousands of people gather in Istanbul while Erdogan issues a warning against protests against the arrest of mayors | Today's news

Water cannons have been used to break the demonstrations in Ankara, the capital, as well as in the coastal city of the Aegean of Izmir.

Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu was arrested on Wednesday during a dawn raid at his residence for alleged ties of corruption and terrorism, degenerating a repression against opposition figures and dissident voices. Several other leading figures, including two district mayors, have also been detained.

A man with the Turkish flag on his back stands in front of anti-riot police during clashes during a rally against the arrest of the mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu, Istanbul, Turkey. (AP)

Many consider arrest as a politically motivated attempt to remove a popular opposition figure and a key challenger to Erdogan during the next presidential race, currently planned for 2028. Government officials reject the accusations that legal actions against opposition figures are politically motivated and insist that the Turkey courts operate independently.

Imamoglu was questioned by police for four hours on corruption charges, during which he denied all the accusations, reported the Cumhuriyet newspaper and other media. He was to be transferred to a courthouse on Saturday evening for interrogation by prosecutors.

His arrest has triggered the biggest demonstrations since 2013, when Turkey has been shaken by antigenmental mass demonstrations that left eight dead.

On Friday, the leader of the main opposition party of Turkey, Ozgur Ozel, renewed an appeal to the supporters to descend into the street for peaceful demonstrations, while the authorities extended the ban on protests and criticized the appeal as irresponsible.

I invite tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands and millions, to demonstrate peacefully, express our democratic reaction and exercise our constitutional rights, he said.

Addressing the rally, Ozel accused Erdogan of using the judiciary as a tool after having failed to defeat the mayor in a fair manner. Erdogan, increasingly authoritarian after more than two decades in power, said that the government would not tolerate street demonstrations and accused the opposition party of links with corruption and terrorism organizations.

An anti-corruption operation in Istanbul is used as an excuse for stirring the disorders in our streets. I want it to be known that we do not allow a handful of opportunists to bring trouble to Turkey just to protect their looting patterns, said Erdogan.

Point the streets instead of the courtroom to defend theft, looting, anarchy and fraud is serious irresponsibility, said Erdogan. Just as we have not gone to the terrorism of the street so far, we will not bow to vandalism in the future either. The most violent confrontation was at the technical university of the Middle East of Ankara on Thursday evening, when the police pulled tear gas and water cannons to disperse the demonstration. Students said rubber bullets were used, but the government denied this.

The Interior Ministry said that more than 50 people had been arrested and that 16 police officers were injured.

The police use peppery gas during clashes with people as they protest against the arrest of the mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu, Istanbul, Turkey. (AP)

Friday, the authorities of Ankara and Izmir announced a five -day ban on demonstrations, following a similar measure imposed earlier in Istanbul. Authorities announced more road closings in Istanbul on Friday and closed metro stops near the university in Ankara.

The arrest of Imamoglu intervened only a few days before he was appointed the presidential candidate of the Republican Popular Party of the Primary Opposition on Sunday. Ozel said primary, where approximately 1.5 million delegates can vote, will continue as planned.

The opposition party also urged citizens to participate in a symbolic election on Sunday thanks to improvised polls to be installed through Turkey to show solidarity with Imamoglu.

Analysts say that Imamoglu could be withdrawn from his functions and replaced by a mayor of fiduciaire, if he is officially responsible for links to the workers' workers in prohibited, or PKK, which is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey and its Western allies.

Meanwhile, Ozel also said that the opposition party would hold an extraordinary party congress on April 6, to thwart the authorities' attempts to appoint a fiduciary president to lead the party. The decision came in the midst of speculations according to which the authorities could cancel the last party's congress, held in 2023, for the purchase of votes and other alleged irregularities, and appoint a handpicked leader.

Friday, the Borsa Istanbul reference index fell by around 7%, which caused temporary negotiation suspensions aimed at preventing panic sales.