March 22 (UPI) — Turkish police arrested at least 343 people during the overnight hours Friday and Saturday for participating in mass protests in several cities in Turkey.
The arrest of opposition leader and Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu on Wednesday sparked the multi-day protests that got underway on Thursday, CNN reported.
He is viewed as current Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s primary challenger for the nation’s presidency.
“Those who disrupt social order, threaten the peace and security of our nation and seek chaos and provocation will never be given an opportunity and will definitely not be tolerated,” Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said in a statement on Saturday.
In a lengthy post Saturday on X, Yerlikaya added that “the days when politics and justice were guided through street terror are completely gone, along with the old Turkey.”
“Turkey is a democratic country. It is a state governed by the rule of law. It is an independent country where the rule of law, not the law of the superiors, prevails,” Yerlikaya said. “No one in Turkey is outside the scope of the law. There is no privileged minority in Turkey that has the freedom to commit crimes.”
Imamoglu faces charges of corruption and assisting terrorist groups shortly before he was scheduled to announce his candidacy for the nation’s presidential election that could occur prior to 2028, the BBC reported.
Turkish authorities conducted an early-morning raid Wednesday that supporters of Imamoglu and others say could indicate a move away from a democratic system of governance, The Guardian reported.
Turkish authorities also arrested about 100 others who are connected to Imamoglu, including his press adviser Murat Ongun.
Imamoglu and many others who were arrested are accused of embezzlement and corruption tied to Imamoglu’s construction company.
He has denied those charges and others accusing him of terrorism for allegedly collaborating with a leftist political coalition prior to local elections held in 2024.
Those elections resulted in Erdogan’s Justice and Development party losing several seats.
The arrests of Imamoglu and his supporters resulted in tens of thousands of protesters taking to the streets in several cities across Turkey despite a national ban on such assemblies.
Many protesters wore masks to thwart facial recognition technology.
A protester identified as “Diler” told The Guardian the protests are a “response to the pressure that has built up over the years.”
“There are problems with the economy, with education [and] with the health system,” Diler said. “We are fed up with this government.”
An estimated 300,000 protesters demonstrated in Istanbul on Friday night, and many protesters fought with police in cities across Turkey.
Yerlikaya said the clashes with police in nine cities resulted in 343 being arrested.
Turkish authorities have blocked roads, closed two bridges leading to Istanbul’s city hall and stationed riot police near protest locations.
