Istanbul, 27 March 2025 (dpa/MIA) - Turkish authorities have arrested 260 people in nationwide demonstrations against the jailing of popular opposition presidential challenger Ekrem İmamoğlu, the government said on Thursday.

Over the past week, Turkey has seen its biggest protest wave and political crisis in over a decade.

A day before his detention on March 19, İmamoğlu was stripped of his university diploma, a pre-requisite for Turkish presidential candidacy, then jailed and ousted as Istanbul mayor.

Initially nearly 1,900 protestors were detained, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said in Ankara.

Many no longer in custody

Hundreds of these have either been freed, released on bail or are still undergoing legal proceedings, Yerlikaya told reporters.

All protestors were detained on charges of "resisting the police," an interior ministry spokesperson told dpa over the phone.

It was immediately unclear what the 260 jailed are accused of.

Minister Yerlikaya claimed some detainees had links to "terrorist organizations" and had criminal records. He also reported that 150 police officers were injured, accusing protestors of violence.

Meanwhile, local media freedom group MLSA told dpa that nine of the 11 journalists arrested while covering protests, including an AFP photographer, have been freed on Thursday, while two remain in custody.

Protesters on the streets despite bans

In a sweeping crackdown on protests, the government banned gatherings in major cities, raided addresses and police used force, including tear gas, in several incidents.

Despite bans, protests have continued in major cities for seventh night Wednesday, with thousands demanding İmamoğlu's release.
Further protests are planned, including a rally in Istanbul for Saturday called for by İmamoğlu's main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP).

İmamoğlu, long-time ruler President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's strongest political rival, was jailed last week on corruption charges.

He faces terrorism-linked charges in a separate probe. İmamoğlu denies the charges.

İmamoğlu's CHP rejects the case as politically motivated and blames Erdoğan for masterminding a "coup."

Erdoğan contends the opposition is trying to cover up corruption and targets protestors as "street terrorists." He has likened Istanbul to the centre of a vast graft network.

CHP knocked Erdoğan's party out of Istanbul City Hall

Erdoğan's Islamic conservatives lost Istanbul, a key economic powerhouse, to İmamoğlu in 2019 after 25 years of rule. Erdoğan started his political rise as Istanbul mayor in the early 1990s.

İmamoğlu, a charismatic mayor, who like Erdoğan is also a former businessman, was re-elected as Istanbul mayor by an even wider margin in 2024 polls.

"İmamoğlu cannot simply be written off, he remains highly popular. The critical question is whether he will still be allowed to run for the presidency," political analyst Berk Esen told dpa.

The political escalation would also "push Turkey toward a Venezuela-style scenario" said Esen, where it would be "a deeply unpopular regime that is destroying the economy while clinging to power through mounting repression and electoral fraud."

MIA file photo