site.btaAnother Night of Mass Protests in Istanbul in Support of Arrested Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu

Hundreds of thousands of people gathered on Tuesday night in Sarachane Park in front of Istanbul's Metropolitan Municipality despite a ban on public events, the opposition TV channel Sozcu reported. It was the seventh night of protests in the city since the detention of Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu on March 19 and his subsequent permanent arrest and removal from office.

People from all ages flooded the streets carrying flags and posters of Ataturk and Ekrem Imamoglu. The rally was joined by people from farther regions such as Tuzla, Gebze and Izmit. The protesters called for solidarity, justice, the resignation of the government and the release of the arrested.

A total of 172 people have been remanded in custody for participating in the protest rallies against Imamoglu's arrest. Another 206 people are detained pending trial, which will decide whether they should remain in custody, Portal Haber reported.

A total of 10 journalists were detained. Among those arrested were accredited journalists from leading media such as NOW TV, AFP and others.

Among those arrested is a young man named Berkay from Eskisehir, to whom belongs the expression "Everything will be fine", a slogan with which Imamoglu won two consecutive terms as mayor of Istanbul.

A total of 1,418 people have been detained since March 19, Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced on the social network X. Turkish media reported that some of those arrested are in police stations because prisons near Istanbul are overcrowded. The ones in police stations are expected to be transferred to distant districts, Evrensel reported.

"You have arrested so many people who want nothing but democracy that there is no room left in the prisons," main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Ozgur Ozel told participants in the protest rally on Tuesday night in Istanbul.

Ozel announced that there would be no rally at Sarachane on Wednesday. The night on Wednesday, called "kadir gecesi", is sacred for Muslims. According to Islam, on this night angels descend among the people and it is considered a blessed night dedicated to asking for forgiveness, taking account and repenting for wrongdoings. 

"On this most blessed night, we will once again declare our unreserved support for our presidential candidate Ekrem Imamoglu, who was arrested on trumped-up charges. We will gather in Beylikduzu for an iftar dinner at the same time he opens his iftar in Silivri prison, and so we will be together symbolically," Ozel said.

In his words, the CHP will carry the rallies to different areas of the megalopolis as well as to all regions of Turkiye.

"We are starting a series of protest rallies so that as many people as possible can participate. In the past two months alone, 250,000 people have become new CHP members. On Saturday at noon, we will hold a rally at Maltepe Park, the largest outdoor park in the Asian part of the metropolis. I urge everyone to be at this rally to write a new page in the history of democracy," Ozel said.

Meanwhile, in Istanbul, the measures that closed a number of metro stations in the centre of the metropolis and in other areas remain in force.

On Monday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned that the disturbance to the peace of Turkish citizens must stop, Anatolian News Agency reported. He accused CHP leader Ozel of "provocations".

Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu was detained on March 19 as part of investigations into corruption and terrorism, sparking a wave of protests.

On March 23, in internal elections, the CHP nominated Imamoglu as its presidential candidate in the presidential elections scheduled to be held in 2028.

On Wednesday, Istanbul's municipal council is due to elect an interim mayor to replace Imamoglu.