site.btaIstanbul Mayor Imamoglu's Arrest, Resulting Public Unrest Remain Hot Topic as Turkiye Celebrates Ramazan Bayram

As Turkiye celebrates Ramazan Bayram, one of the largest Muslim holidays, the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu and the resulting public unrest remain a hot topic in the country.

On the first day of Ramazan Bayram, on Sunday, the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) launched a signature campaign calling for the release of Imamoglu, who is the party’s presidential candidate, and the holding of early elections, Deutsche Welle's Turkish office reported.

A poll by Ser Arastırma, conducted between March 24 and 27, reveals that more than 60% of Turks want early elections, the opposition newspaper Cumhuriyet reported. According to the results, 63.5% of respondents believe that snap elections should be held this year, 33.2% oppose an early vote, and 3.3% are undecided.

In a statement posted on social media on Sunday evening, CHP leader Ozgur Ozel said that they would organize weekly rallies, rotating between different Turkish provinces every weekend and a designated location in Istanbul every Wednesday.

Ozel said they would not convey holiday greetings to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party and Erdogan ally Devlet Bahceli's Nationalist Movement Party in protest against the mass arrests made during the pro-Imamoglu demonstrations, opposition TV channel Halk reported. This is the first time in Turkiye’s recent history that political leaders have broken with the tradition of exchanging greetings during the holiday - a tradition that symbolizes forgiveness.

On the eve of Ramazan Bayram, the CHP held its largest rally in Istanbul in support of Imamoglu, drawing an estimated 2.2 million people, according to the opposition. People of all ages gathered at Maltepe Park on the Asian coast of the megalopolis, even though the rally took place on Arife, the religious holiday preceding Ramazan Bayram. 

In a letter read out at the rally, Imamoglu said he has “no fear because the Turkish nation is united”.

“We will not bow to tyranny,” he added.

Ozel visited Imamoglu and detained students in Istanbul prison on Sunday and accused authorities of “mistreating” them. In his words, the students were denied adequate water, crammed into rooms, handcuffed behind their backs and left to starve for hours.

In a video message to the ruling Justice and Development Party organizations on the occasion of Ramazan Bayram, Turkish President Erdogan called the demonstrations “street terror”. He added that as the investigation into the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality progresses, “it will surely be revealed to what extent the arms of a crime organization that wraps municipalities like an octopus go,” Turkish state broadcaster TRT Haber reported.

“The events that took place in the last 10 days of Ramazan and the street terrorism are nothing but an attempt to cover up the robbery,” the Turkish President said.

Istanbul Mayor Imamoglu was detained on March 19, with a court ordering his permanent detention on corruption charges on March 23. Also on March 23, during a primary, the CHP named Imamoglu the party’s candidate for the 2028 presidential elections.

Imamoglu’s arrest has triggered mass protests across major Turkish cities, leading to clashes with police and the detention of hundreds of demonstrators, including journalists.