Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on Thursday nearly 1,900 people detained at protests in support of the arrested mayor of Istanbul.
According to Ali Yerlikaya, 260 of them remain in custody awaiting trial, the cases of 662 detainees are pending trial and 489 have been released.
All the protesters were detained on charges of resisting law enforcement, the Turkish Interior Ministry told dpa news agency. Yerlikaya also said 150 police officers were injured in the mass protests.
Turkish police in Istanbul used water cannons and pepper gas against protesters. A nationwide ban on public gatherings in Turkey has been extended until April 1.
Mass protests began in Turkey after the detention and subsequent arrest of Istanbul Mayor and one of the opposition leaders Ekrem İmamoğlu.
The situation remains tense. If İmamoğlu is convicted, he will lose the right to stand for election. Erdogan, whose term expires in 2028, may try to change the constitution or call early elections.
Another threat to Erdogan
Meanwhile, according to the Turkish press, it is not only İmamoğlu who poses a threat to the ruling government, but also the mayor of Ankara, Mansur Yavaş. Both mayors, according to polls, are edging Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the second round.
The president and his ruling AKP party are hoping the protesters will tire and start worrying again about monstrous inflation (39 per cent in February) and the depreciation of the Turkish lira, rather than freedom of speech and democracy.
Ekrem İmamoğlu was detained on March 19 and has been in prison custody since March 23. He is charged in two proceedings, one concerning corruption in the mayor’s office and the other aiding and abetting terrorism. In its motion, the prosecutor’s office pointed to charges of aiding and abetting an armed terrorist organisation, setting up a criminal organisation, falsifying tender results and bribery. İmamoğlu categorically denied any links to terrorist organisations and called the evidence against him fabricated and false.
