site.btaDozens Detained, Boycott Urged, Journalists Held Up on Seventh Day since Istanbul Mayor's Arrest

A total of 55 people were detained on Tuesday by Turkish police on charges of insulting President Erdogan and his family, violating a ban on gatherings and demonstrations and disobeying a law enforcement officer, Anadolu Agency reported. The police action took place early in the morning, initially detaining 41 citizens who took part in the protests in Istanbul on Monday, and later arresting 14 more.

On Monday, thousands continued to protest in various cities across the country against the arrest of Instanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, who was detained on March 19 on corruption and terrorism charges. The terrorism charges were later dropped.

Despite the bans on gatherings and demonstrations that are in force in Istanbul, Izmir and Ankara, for the sixth consecutive night many thousands protested in these and other major cities in Turkiye. The Ankara ban was originally introduced on March 21 and was due to expire on Tuesday but was later extended until April 1, Turkish state broadcaster TRT Haber reported.

On Tuesday, students and lecturers from multiple Turkish universities boycotted classes for second consecutive day despite efforts to deter their protests by the rectors of the institutions, the opposition daily BirGun reported. 

Istanbul's Chief Public Prosecution Office announced that it has opened an investigation into a call made by the Education and Science Workers' Union (EGİTİM-SEN) to boycott jobs and participate in protests in support of the arrested Mayor. The prosecution service said in a statement that the call by the trade union could be seen as incitement to commit a crime. 

Agence France-Presse photojournalist Yasin Akgul, who covered the protests in Istanbul, was placed under arrest at the request of the prosecution service, along with nine other individuals who participated in the demonstrations, on the grounds that they acted in violation of the Law on Meetings and Demonstrations. Turkish journalists' associations and unions called at a press conference for the journalists detained in the Istanbul protests to be released.

While the government categorically rejects accusations that the prosecution against Imamoglu and his associates is political, the leader of Turkiye's largest opposition force, the Republican People's Party (CHP), Ozgur Ozel told CNN that "if Imamoglu was not a presidential candidate, nothing like this would have happened".

Imamoglu sent a message via his X account condemning the insults against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his family and calling on prosecutors to look into the insults against himself and his own family. 

The CHP leader called for a boycott of businesses and restaurants that neglect the country's protests sparked by Imamoglu's arrest. A day earlier, Ozel also called for a boycott of pro-government media outlets for not covering the protests.

International reactions to the events continued. The Council of Europe expressed concern about the disproportionate use of force against protesters in Turkiye, and Reporters Without Borders condemned the detention of an AFP journalist in Istanbul.