10,000 in the square for Imamoglu, incidents and tear gas in the Istanbul protest

Thousands of citizens gathered for the second night in a row in front of Istanbul's city hall, protesting the arrest of Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, a leading opposition figure and potential rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Imamoğlu was detained during a raid in the early hours of Wednesday morning, accused of corruption and links to terrorist organizations, as part of a wider crackdown on opposition leaders.

But students and citizens from every corner of Istanbul gathered outside the municipality, expressing their support, while the rally was accompanied by incidents, as the police used tear gas to disperse the crowd.

Young people from various political currents are participating in the mobilization. Present are supporters of the Kemalist CHP, but also members of left-wing organizations, as well as a Kurdish delegation, while the total number is estimated at around 10,000 students.

Meanwhile, the first footage of Ekrem Imamoglu after his arrest is circulating on social media. In the video, the Istanbul mayor is seen leaving the courthouse and greeting the crowd, trying to maintain his composure.

Imamoglu was arrested by the Turkish state yesterday on charges including bribery and aiding a terrorist group, a move that the main opposition party criticized as an "attempted coup" against Erdogan's potential rival for the presidency.

At the same time, the Turkish state confiscated his construction company, as announced by the Istanbul Prosecutor's Office.

In a statement late last night, the prosecutor's office said control of Imamoglu's construction company had been transferred to the criminal court, based on economic crime investigation reports.

In total, Turkish police arrested 100 people, including politicians, journalists and businessmen, while Imamoglu reacted on social media by saying that "the will of the people cannot be stopped."

Meanwhile, UK-based company Netblocks claimed yesterday that Turkey has severely restricted access to social networking sites such as X, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok.

For much of the international press, Imamoglu's arrest comes as part of a major nationwide crackdown in recent months, targeting opposition politicians, municipalities, journalists and entertainment industry figures.

According to Reuters, “after the arrest of the mayor of Istanbul, concerns about Turkey’s shift towards authoritarianism were expressed on social media, with some calling for an opposition boycott of the upcoming presidential election, arguing that a fair and democratic vote is no longer possible.” (A2 Televizion)