Mass Arrests, Crackdown as Protests Against Erdogan’s Government Escalate

For the seventh consecutive night, thousands of protesters took to the streets, condemning the jailing of Imamoglu—President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s key political rival.

Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced that 1,418 people had been detained for participating in what he called "illegal demonstrations," warning that the government would show "no concessions" to those who "terrorize the streets."

Seven journalists were also arrested on charges of participating in unauthorized rallies, a move denounced as “scandalous” by Reporters Without Borders [RSF].

Erdogan, addressing a group of young people during a Ramadan fast-breaking meal, dismissed the protests as "street terror" and warned that those seeking to "set fire to this country" would find no escape.

Meanwhile, thousands of demonstrators marched in Istanbul’s Sisli district, chanting anti-government slogans and demanding Erdogan’s resignation.

In a separate gathering in Sarachane, home to Istanbul's city hall, opposition leader Ozgur Ozel called for a mass rally on Saturday, describing it as "the largest open-air referendum in history" to demand early elections.

The protests—Turkey’s largest in over a decade—began after Imamoglu was jailed on corruption charges, widely seen by opposition supporters as a politically motivated attack on democracy.

Authorities have cracked down on demonstrators with riot police deploying water cannons, pepper spray, and rubber bullets.

The United Nations has expressed alarm over the Turkish government’s mass detentions and the "unlawful blanket ban on protests," urging authorities to investigate any excessive use of force.