The opposition of Turkiye presses demonstrations as Swedish journalist imprisoned – World

The opposition of Turkiyes worked on Sunday to maintain the momentum of the protest movement launched by the arrest of the mayor of Istanbuls after a giant weekend rally, with a Swedish journalist the last detainee in a repression of the government.

The arrest of March 19 of the mayor of Istanbuls, Ekrem Imamoglu, on accusations of corruption, his supporters say they were false, triggered the most important anti-government demonstrations in Turkiye in more than a decade, in a major test for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

After more than a week of night street demonstrations, the Republican Imamoglus People Party (CHP) mobilized hundreds of thousands of people on Saturday for a giant rally in Istanbul calling for the Liberation of Imamoglu, considered the candidate with the best chance of defeating Erdogan at the Ballot box after almost a quarter of a century.

Turkiye entering several days of public vacation marking the end of the month of Ramadan Muslim fasting, the opposition promised to maintain the protest movement while baking tactics to more targeted events.

Party CHP leader Ozgur Ozel, a former pharmacist who intervened as a main Party Pladear Public, while Imamoglu languishes in Silivri prison in Istanbul, demonstrations would take place in another Wednesday of Turkiyes 81.

Force to defeat him

On Sunday, he launched a campaign to bring together signatures for a petition calling for the liberation of Imamoglus and the first elections, starting the road in the region of the Black Sea of ​​Mayors Mayors, in the east of Turkiye.

God is my witness according to which the crime of Imamoglus Ekrem is to be rival of Tayyip Erdogans, said Ozel.

The reason why Imamoglu was thrown into prison is that he defeated Tayyip in the past, he said, referring to the way Imamoglu defeated candidates of the ruling party in 2019 and 2024 elections for the mayor of Istanbul, an Erdogan post.

And he (Imamoglu) has the strength and wisdom to defeat him (Erdogan) in the future, added Ozel.

The government responded to the demonstrations by a repression which disturbed the allies and the rights groups of NATO members, with dozens of young people spending the holidays behind bars, Journalists have detained and foreign journalists held or expelled.