Anti-government protests rocked Turkey after a local court in Istanbul sent Ekrem İmamoğlu, the Mayor of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, to prison on March 23, 2025 for his alleged involvement in corruption and for supporting terrorism. Although the Police detained İmamoğlu on March 19, it was not an official arrest. On March 23, the court decided to send the top rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to prison, triggering the biggest protests in the country in more than a decade. It may be noted that İmamoğlu was ousted from his position and jailed hours before the Republican People’s Party (CHP), the main Opposition party of Turkey, designated him its candidate in the next Presidential Election. The Opposition leader denied the charges, calling them politically motivated. He also vowed to fight the government, stressing: “We will rip away this coup, this dark stain on our democracy, all together.“

The court also ordered 20 others to be remanded in custody on corruption charges. However, the court did not press terror charges against the 53-year-old İmamoğlu. Thousands of people took to the streets in different Turkish cities immediately after receiving the news. Protesters are of the opinion that the detention of İmamoğlu is a politically motivated move. Erdoğan has been serving as President for more than a decade. During this period, the Opposition camp has not been able to throw a strong challenge to the authoritarian President. Meanwhile, İmamoğlu has emerged as the main rival of Erdoğan in recent times. As General Elections are scheduled to be held in 2028, political analysts have opined that İmamoğlu’s CHP could give the Justice and Development Party (AKP) of Erdoğan a tough fight. Some are even talking about the possibility of a change. In such an atmosphere, the detention of İmamoğlu has prompted the Opposition camp to stage anti-government protests.

According to analysts, President Erdoğan has influenced the judiciary to get İmamoğlu detained as the CHP has nominated the latter as its presidential candidate. Meanwhile, the CHP has decided to intensify the protests, with Mayor of Ankara Mansur Yavaş stating that the imprisonment of İmamoğlu is a disgrace to the judicial system.

The Erdoğan Administration feared that the protests could escalate after the announcement of the verdict on March 23. Hence, the government tightened security in Istanbul and other major cities on March 22 evening. In spite of a ban on protests in various parts of the country, unrest broke out in 50 cities, including Istanbul and Ankara, on March 22 night. The Police confirmed that three hundred thousand people took to the streets in Istanbul alone on Saturday night! However, the CHP claimed that the number crossed one million.

The post of Istanbul mayor is quite important in Turkish politics. Erdoğan held this chair from 1994 to 1998. In fact, his popularity started to grow across the country after he became the mayor of Istanbul. He became the Prime Minister in 2003 and held the position for the next 11 years. During his prime ministership, Erdoğan amended the law to become the President (in 2014). İmamoğlu recently emerged as the main political rival of Erdoğan with the support of many European leaders. After considering the growing popularity of İmamoğlu, the Government of President Erdoğan decided to create troubles for him.

Although Erdoğan warned that his administration would not tolerate mass protests, millions of people have ignored the threat to join the anti-government campaign. The global media have reported that the biggest protests in more than a decade have erupted across Turkey. Addressing a protest rally in Istanbul on March 21, senior CHP leader Özgür Özel said: “Erdoğan is trying to twist İmamoğlu’s arm by using the judiciary as a weapon and take over this building. But we won’t hand it over to a government-appointed trustee!” He also said: “This is not a CHP rally, the people here are from all parties and have come to show solidarity with Mayor İmamoğlu and stand up for democracy.” The vast crowd was seen punctuating his speech with cheers and applause.

As Özel’s spoke, clashes erupted on the sidelines of the protest rally, with the Riot Police firing tear gas and rubber bullets. Clashes also broke out in Ankara and the western coastal city of İzmir where the Police fired water cannons and tear gas. Later, Ali Yerlikaya, the Interior Minister of Turkey, claimed that the Police detained 97 protesters during demonstrations on March 21. He accused the Opposition leader of “grave irresponsibility“, stressing that Özel, too, could face legal action.

Boundless Ocean of Politics on Facebook

Boundless Ocean of Politics on Twitter

Boundless Ocean of Politics on Linkedin

Contact us: kousdas@gmail.com

Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das