Istanbul, 22 March 2025 (dpa/MIA) - Protesters took to the streets in Turkey on Friday night for the third night in a row, demanding that the government step down over the detention of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu.

People rallied in Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir despite a ban on demonstrations, local media reported.

In Istanbul, people chanted slogans such as "Government, resign!"

Officers used tear gas against demonstrators who wanted to break through a police blockade, as seen by a dpa reporter.

Demonstrations had also been announced for the evening in numerous other cities in the country.

On X, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya wrote about 97 arrests at demonstrations until shortly before midnight.

Earlier on Friday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan called the protests "street terror" and accused İmamoğlu's main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) of exploiting the investigation as a pretext to plunge the country into chaos.

"We will not tolerate any disruption of public order. Just as we have not bowed to street terror before, we will not yield to vandalism now," Erdoğan said at a Nowruz celebration in Istanbul.

Erdoğan also accused the CHP, which is the founding party of modern Turkey, of corruption and inciting unrest.

A court has yet to weigh in on the corruption and terrorism allegations against İmamoğlu and several others.

The mayor's detention on Wednesday triggered nightly protests across the country. Authorities have responded with heavy security measures and banned gatherings in four major cities, including Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir.

İmamoğlu party was preparing to name him as their presidential candidate on Sunday when he was taken into custody. The CHP has said it would still proceed with the selection.

In a crackdown on social media protests over the detention, Turkish authorities have detained 54 people, the government said on Friday.

A total of 326 accounts were under investigation for posts suspected of incitement to hatred and encouraging criminal acts, Yerlikaya wrote on X.

On Thursday, Yerlikaya said 37 users were detained.

Separately, the authorities brought criminal charges against 53 demonstrators who joined the protests, according to Yerlikaya.

Photo: EPA