Tensions continued to escalate across Turkey on Thursday, March 20, as thousands of protesters took to the streets for a second consecutive day to demand the release of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu.
The popular opposition leader was detained in a predawn raid on Wednesday, March 19, facing charges of corruption and alleged ties to a terrorist organization—accusations widely denounced by his supporters as politically motivated.
Despite a four-day ban on demonstrations imposed by the Istanbul governor’s office, crowds gathered outside Istanbul’s City Hall, defying police barricades and heavy security measures. Clashes broke out in multiple cities, with riot police deploying tear gas, rubber bullets, and water cannons to disperse protesters in Istanbul and Ankara. In Istanbul, small groups of demonstrators scuffled with authorities near the fenced-off Taksim Square—a historic site of public dissent—while in Ankara, students at Middle East Technical University faced similar forceful responses.
The arrest of İmamoğlu, a key figure in the Republican People’s Party (CHP) and a prominent rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has ignited outrage across the country. The timing of his detention—just days before he was expected to be named the CHP’s presidential candidate for the 2028 election—has fueled claims of a government-led crackdown on political opposition. Alongside İmamoğlu, dozens of others, including journalists, municipal staff, and opposition figures, were also detained, deepening concerns over democratic backsliding in Turkey.
CHP leader Özgür Özel addressed a rally outside Istanbul’s municipal headquarters on Thursday evening, urging supporters to sustain their resistance. “This nation will never forgive those who undermine the will of the people,” Özel declared, vowing to remain at the site until İmamoğlu is freed. From detention, İmamoğlu himself took to social media platform X, calling on members of Erdoğan’s ruling party and the judiciary to “fight the injustice” of his arrest. “It is time to raise our voices,” he wrote, framing the struggle as a broader battle for democracy.
The protests have also reverberated beyond Istanbul, with smaller demonstrations reported in cities like Izmir and Adana. In a sign of growing defiance, crowds waved banners featuring İmamoğlu alongside Turkey’s founding leader, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, while chanting anti-government slogans. Social media access remained heavily restricted for a second day, with reports of slowed or blocked platforms adding to public frustration.
The unrest has taken a toll on Turkey’s already fragile economy, with the Turkish lira experiencing a sharp decline on Wednesday before a partial recovery on Thursday, settling at nearly 38 to the dollar. Analysts warn that prolonged instability could further erode investor confidence.
As night fell on Thursday, protesters vowed to continue their demonstrations into the weekend, raising the prospect of a sustained standoff between the government and an increasingly emboldened opposition. With İmamoğlu able to be held without charges for up to four days, the coming hours could prove pivotal in determining the trajectory of this unfolding crisis.
