Big protests in Istanbul – despite ban

Thousands of people protest in Istanbul after the city’s mayor Ekrem Imamoglu has been arrested.

This is despite the fact that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogans has banned demonstrations.

The dissatisfaction pester greatly in Turkey after the notable arrest of Erdogan’s political rival Ekrem Imamoglu early Wednesday morning. Immediately after the arrest, internet traffic to social platforms was shut down and demonstrations were banned for four days.

However, the latter has not prevented many people from heading out on the streets of Istanbul to protest.

Pictures from the news agency AP show large crowds outside the city hall in Istanbul, and Turkish Cumhuriyet reports on “tens of thousands” people.

According to AFP, the crowds “Erdogan, dictator!” And “Imamoglu, you’re not alone!”. Pictures from AP also show handgun between protesters and police on the scene.

Hours after the arrest of Imamoglu, the government announced that the suspicions concern three separate cases, where corruption and “support for a terrorist organization” were mentioned. The effort took place before an expected message that Imamoglu would stand as a candidate for the opposition party CHP (Republican People’s Party) in the 2028 presidential election.