Detention of Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, Erdogan’s main political rival, has triggered the biggest street protests in Turkey in more than a decade
Protesters near Istanbul's city hall during a rally in support of the city's arrested mayor. Photograph: Ozan Kose/AFP via Getty Imagessaid on Monday that protests over the jailing of Istanbul’s mayor had become a “movement of violence” and that the main opposition party would be held accountable for injured police officers and damage to property.
Despite a ban imposed on street gatherings in many cities, the mostly peaceful anti-government demonstrations have continued, with hundreds of thousands taking part and the CHP’s leader, Ozgur Ozel, calling for the nationwide protests to continue.
A CHP delegation met Istanbul’s governor to discuss the police crackdown on the protesters. The party’s Istanbul leader Ozgur Celik said the police actions on Sunday night had been the most violent so far, with many protesters being hospitalised. Mr Erdogan, who has dominated Turkish politics for more than two decades and faces no immediate tests at the ballot box, said the events of the past few days showed that the CHP was not fit to run local municipalities, let alone the nation.
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