Erdogan calls Turkey protests for arresting Imamoglu “evil”

Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused the political parties of the opposition for provoking a “movement of violence” as protests in the country continue for the sixth night.

The unrest began in Istanbul last Wednesday when the mayor of the city Ekrem Imamoglu, Erdogan’s main presidential rival, was detained on corruption charges.

Thousands of people gathered once again on Monday. Enrest escalates on Sunday night, with protesters shooting tear gas and rubber bullets.

Imamoglu, also stopped by his post as mayor, said the allegations against him were politically motivated, a claim denied by Erdogan.

Much of the police for riots accompanied protesters around the Istanbul City Hall on Monday night as the crowds chanted and removed Turkish flags.

The vehicles carrying water rifles were also seen nearby, although the protests seemed largely calm, without repeating the fierce clashes observed on Sunday.

In numbers published before the collection of Monday night, the Turkish government said 1133 people had been arrested since the beginning of the protests.

In a more television statement, Erdogan marks the “evil” demonstrations and accused the political parties of the opposition for “breaking the peace of our citizens with provocations.”

Speaking from Ankara, the capital of Turkey, he called on the protests to be completed and said that “instead of responding to the accusations,” opposition parties “made the most measures and illegal statements in our political history of (the last) five days.”

CHP Özgür Özel leader talks with the thousands gathered on Monday night He told the crowd that the demonstration was “an act of challenging against fascism.”

Ezel said he would visit Imamoglu at Silimri Prison on Tuesday. He said CHP would appeal to a policy to be released in anticipation of a lawsuit and to display its trial to the state television operator TRT.

Although in custody, Imamoglu was confirmed on Monday as a candidate for the Republican People’s Party (CHP) for the 2028 presidential election. The vote confirming his candidacy was symbolic as he was the only person he was running.

He spent Sunday nights in prison after being officially arrested and charged with a criminal organization, bribery, extortion, illegal recording of personal data and auctioned.

In an X -weekend post, Imamoglu said he “will never bow” and criticized his arrest as a “black spot for our democracy.”

He also sends greetings to those who protest and said that the voters have shown that Turkey had “enough” from Erdogan.

The demonstrations observed in recent days are the largest in Turkey since the 2013 Gezi protests, which began in Istanbul due to the destruction of a local park.

They were largely calm, but on Sunday, police officers fired at water cannons and used a pepper spray as the clashes unfolded.

Dilek Kaya Imamoglu, the wife of Imamoglu, was also out of the Istanbul mayoralty and told the protesters that the “injustice” that her husband was confronted with has “hit the chord with every conscience.”

Imamoglu was one of more than 100 people detained last week as part of an investigation. Other arrested included politicians, journalists and businessmen.

His arrest does not prevent his candidacy or election as president, but he will not be able to run if he is convicted of any of the charges against him.

The closed politician is regarded as one of Erdogan’s most terrible rivals, who has held a position in Turkey for 22 years as Prime Minister and President.

Due to the limits of the term, Erdogan cannot be re -ranked for position in 2028 unless the constitution changed.

Turkey’s Ministry of Justice criticizes those who associate Erdogan with arrests and insists on his judicial independence.