<
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/mar/24/journalists-among-more-than-1100-arrested-in-turkey-crackdown-istanbul>
"Turkish authorities have arrested more than 1,100 people including
journalists, while bombarding the social media platform X with requests to
block hundreds of accounts after tens of thousands took to the streets in the
largest anti-government protests in years.
One journalist was detained while covering demonstrations that took place
outside Istanbul city hall, while nine others were detained in dawn raids.
The Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, speaking after a cabinet meeting
in the capital, Ankara, called the protests a “movement of violence”.
He said the country’s main opposition Republican People’s party (CHP) would be
held accountable for injuries to police officers and damage to property, adding
that they should stop “provoking” the public.
The sweeping arrests came the morning after the Istanbul mayor, Ekrem İmamoğlu,
was arrested on corruption charges and sent to a high-security prison on the
outskirts of the city, on the same day he was named the opposition’s candidate
for president.
Mass demonstrations triggered by İmamoğlu’s detention amount to the largest in
Turkey in more than a decade. The protests have resulted in increasing pushback
from the Turkish authorities, with police now readily deploying pepper spray,
teargas and armoured water cannon trucks against crowds gathering in Istanbul
as well as other major towns and cities across the country.
On Monday evening, crowds of students filled streets in the Beşiktaş
neighbourhood, but were quickly hemmed in by lines of riot police.
The Turkish interior minister, Ali Yerlikaya, said 1,133 people had been
detained in five days, starting with the dawn raid in which İmamoğlu and tens
of municipal officials were taken into custody. Many of those detained in the
days since were arrested for breaching a city-wide ban on protests in Istanbul.
The city’s governor also restricted entry to Istanbul over the weekend in an
attempt to curb the demonstrations."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
