Türkiye. Imamogle, stopped. Protests after the arrest of Erdogan's rival

In Turkey on Wednesday, protests broke out in various parts of the country after the detention of the opposition mayor of Istanbul Imamogle. At one of the Turkish universities, there was a confrontation between protesters and the police who used the clubs and tear gas.

The imprisonment of the imamogle was arrested on Wednesday as part of an investigation into alleged corruption and connections with terrorism. The Anatolia press agency announced that in total prosecutors issued an arrest warrant of about 100 people. The authorities closed several roads around Istanbul, and also introduced a ban on organizing demonstration for four days to prevent protests.

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Despite the ban on gatherings, people gathered in front of the police station, to which the imamogle was transported, and in front of the municipal authorities.

The main opposition republican People's Party (CHP) announced a large protest action on Wednesday evening. The opposition television Halk TV announced that tens of thousands of people gathered in Istanbul at the demonstration.

People chanted: “Government to resign!”, “The day will come when the (ruling) AKP party will be held responsible!” – Reuters and BBC services.

The leader of the CHP Ozel Ozel, speaking to the crowd, stated that stopping imamogle was “an attempt to assassination against the will of the nation.” He expressed the belief that the investigation towards the opposition mayor follows that the president Recep Tayyip Erdogan He is afraid to face him in the election.

He appealed to the Turks to take part on Sunday, March 23 in the primaries, which would select the CHP party candidate for president.

Demonstrations also took place in Ankara and, among others In the provinces of Izmir and Adana – reports the Turkish editorial office of the BBC.

Clash of demonstrators with the police

As reported by the website, students of the Istanbul University gathered in front of the university to protest against the mayor's detention and against the university's annulment of his diploma the day before. IN Turkey Higher education is required to apply for the president's seat.

According to the BBC, there was a clash between the group of students and the security forces. The police used pepper spray and sticks.

Demonstrations were also organized at two universities in Ankara.

Erdogan's main political rival

Imamoglu is considered to be the main political rival of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has been governing Turkey for over 20 years, first as a prime minister, and from 2014 as a president.

The presidential election is scheduled for 2028. According to the constitution, the current leader cannot apply for re -election, but there are voices that the authorities may strive to make a change in the constitution, which would allow him to further rule.

As Reuters emphasized, against the background of Wednesday detention, the lyre value dropped by 12 percent. to the historic minimum (42 lira per dollar).

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