Large demonstrations against Erdoğan
“The extent of the protests surprised the regime”
28.03.2025 – 11:35 a.m.Reading time: 4 min.
Since the arrest of the Turkish opposition leader İmamoğlu, there have been major protests against the government nationwide. Human rights activists describe cases of massive police violence.
Shortly before a planned large demonstration in the Turkish metropolis of Istanbul, human rights organizations asked President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to stop attacks on peaceful demonstrators. Meanwhile, the lawyer of the greatest political competitor of the President was arrested. Internationally, criticism of the government’s approach.
In the joint explanation of Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and 13 other organizations it was said that it was alerted “about the latest escalation of the state approach against freedom of expression and assembly after the arrest of the Mayor of Istanbul Ekrem İmoğlu”. According to a survey, the protests are supported by a majority of Turks.
The police are hard against protesters, sometimes brutal. The politician and lawyer Sezgin Tanrıkulu, who is active for the largest opposition party, also accused the emergency services of sexual violence. Exact figures for injured demonstrators are not published, the police only speak of more than 100 injured officials.
Meanwhile, the protests in various cities in the country do not tore off on Thursday. According to reports, thousands of people reported the ninth evening in a row – including in Izmir, Istanbul and the capital Ankara. Numerous people were arrested again.
The Turkish opposition called for the large demo on Saturday in Istanbul. CHP boss Özgür Özel said that the protests continued until an early presidential election was scheduled or the Mayor of Istanbul, Istanbul, IMATION IMAMOğLU, would be released from prison.
Meanwhile, the opposition politician reported the arrest of his lawyer and called for his immediate release. “This time my lawyer Mehmet Pehlivan was arrested for invented reasons,” wrote İmamoğlu on Friday in the online service X. “As if the coup attempt against democracy was not enough, they cannot tolerate the victims of this coup,” he added.
Since Imamoğlus arrest on March 19 in Turkey, tens of thousands of people have been demonstrating mostly peacefully against Erdoğan’s government. The demonstrators accuse the President of wanting the popular opposition politician with the help of the judiciary. So far, the popular opposition politician has been given chances of being able to beat Erdoğan in a next presidential election.
According to the Turkish Ministry of the Interior, almost 1,900 people have been temporarily arrested since the start of the protests, including several journalists. The protests known by Erdogan as the “violent movement” referred to by the opposition were banned in several cities. In Istanbul, the governor’s office has now expired this ban on protest.
The human rights organizations continued to complain that the protests were answered with “unjustified and illegal police violence”. People were beaten and kicked with batons when they lay on the ground. Police officers would have used pepper spray, tear gas, plastic floors and water cannons against the demonstrators, which had led to numerous injuries.
Flat -rate banners such as in Istanbul, Ankara, Antalya and Izmir are disproportionate and not to be justified. Media must be made possible to provide the public with the necessary information and to report on state pressure on events free of charge, it was also said with a view to repression against government -critical television stations. The signatories of the explanation also include several journalist associations and the PEN Author Association International.
