Turkey: Protests continue, eight journalists in the process of being released
Eight journalists arrested for covering banned gatherings are due to be released on Thursday as the protests in Turkey, sparked by the imprisonment of opposition Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, entered their second stage. A Turkish television channel close to the opposition was sentenced on Thursday to ten days of interruption of its programmes.
Published : 27/03/2025 -
By: FRANCE 24
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Call for a demonstration on Saturday
The Republican People's Party (CHP, social democratic), the main opposition force, which until then had invited tens of thousands of people to gather every evening in front of Istanbul City Hall, has stopped doing so, calling for a very large rally on Saturday in another place in the city.
To be readWith the detention of his main opponent, Erdogan makes Turkey an "assumed autocracy"
A student coordination in Istanbul also called for a demonstration at the end of the day, Thursday, in a district whose mayor was also arrested and dismissed from office and where thousands of young people had marched on Tuesday evening to the applause of local residents, their faces often masked for fear of being identified by the police.
President Erdogan, who hardened his tone against the opposition on Wednesday, suggesting that new corruption investigations could fall on the CHP, has repeatedly said that he would not give in to the "terror of the street".
The authorities, who have banned gatherings in several major cities in the country, announced on Tuesday that they had arrested more than 1,400 demonstrators since the beginning of the wave of protests.
See alsoTurkey: Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the march towards dictatorship?
French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday denounced "attacks" and "aggressions" in Turkey that "can only be regretted". "The systematic nature of the prosecution of opposition and civil society figures, the attacks on the freedom to inform, to assemble, the arrest and detention of the mayor of Istanbul are very clearly attacks and aggressions that we can only regret," the French president said after a meeting in Paris of a coalition of states supporting Ukraine.
With AFP
Eight journalists arrested for covering banned gatherings are due to be released on Thursday as the protests in Turkey, sparked by the imprisonment of opposition Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, entered their second stage. A Turkish television channel close to the opposition was sentenced on Thursday to ten days of interruption of its programmes.
Published : 27/03/2025 -
By: FRANCE 24
01:56
Agence France-Presse photographer Yasin Akgul, arrested in Turkey on March 25, 2025, in an undated © photo - / AFP/Archives
The protests have entered their second week in Turkey, where the authorities, faced with demonstrations on a scale not seen in twelve years, ordered the release of eight journalists arrested for covering banned gatherings on Thursday 27 March.
Among them is Agence France-Presse photographer Yasin Akgül, who was arrested at dawn on Monday at his home in Istanbul, imprisoned since Tuesday and released on Thursday afternoon. The charges against the 35-year-old reporter have not been dropped by the courts, however, his lawyer told AFP.
The Turkish judiciary had ordered the release of eight journalists arrested on Monday in Istanbul and Izmir on Thursday morning, a measure that should take place during the day. The NGO Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said it was "relieved" by this announcement, demanding the release of the other two still in the hands of the authorities. According to an NGO, these two journalists arrested in Izmir are still in police custody on Thursday.
The Turkish television channel Sözcü TV, which is close to the opposition and has already been fined recently, was sentenced on Thursday to ten days of interruption of its programmes for "inciting the public to hatred and hostility", according to the Turkish Broadcasting Council (RTÜK), which is in the midst of protests in the country.
See alsoTurkey: Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the march towards dictatorship?
The wave of protests was triggered by the arrest on 19 March of the popular opposition mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's main rival, on "corruption".
Students protested on Wednesday at several universities in Ankara, the capital. In one of them, several dozen of their professors also denounced, in gowns, the "pressure" exerted by the government on the opposition and the universities.
In Istanbul, where the protests are most pronounced, Wednesday evening was calmer than in previous days, AFP journalists said.
The protests have entered their second week in Turkey, where the authorities, faced with demonstrations on a scale not seen in twelve years, ordered the release of eight journalists arrested for covering banned gatherings on Thursday 27 March.
Among them is Agence France-Presse photographer Yasin Akgül, who was arrested at dawn on Monday at his home in Istanbul, imprisoned since Tuesday and released on Thursday afternoon. The charges against the 35-year-old reporter have not been dropped by the courts, however, his lawyer told AFP.
The Turkish judiciary had ordered the release of eight journalists arrested on Monday in Istanbul and Izmir on Thursday morning, a measure that should take place during the day. The NGO Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said it was "relieved" by this announcement, demanding the release of the other two still in the hands of the authorities. According to an NGO, these two journalists arrested in Izmir are still in police custody on Thursday.
The Turkish television channel Sözcü TV, which is close to the opposition and has already been fined recently, was sentenced on Thursday to ten days of interruption of its programmes for "inciting the public to hatred and hostility", according to the Turkish Broadcasting Council (RTÜK), which is in the midst of protests in the country.
The RTÜK also imposed fines and a suspension of certain programmes on three other channels critical of the government, including Halk TV, five of whose journalists were arrested at the end of January on charges of trying to influence the courts. The journalists were eventually acquitted.
See alsoTurkey: Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the march towards dictatorship?
The wave of protests was triggered by the arrest on 19 March of the popular opposition mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's main rival, on "corruption".
Students protested on Wednesday at several universities in Ankara, the capital. In one of them, several dozen of their professors also denounced, in gowns, the "pressure" exerted by the government on the opposition and the universities.
In Istanbul, where the protests are most pronounced, Wednesday evening was calmer than in previous days, AFP journalists said.
Call for a demonstration on Saturday
The Republican People's Party (CHP, social democratic), the main opposition force, which until then had invited tens of thousands of people to gather every evening in front of Istanbul City Hall, has stopped doing so, calling for a very large rally on Saturday in another place in the city.
To be readWith the detention of his main opponent, Erdogan makes Turkey an "assumed autocracy"
A student coordination in Istanbul also called for a demonstration at the end of the day, Thursday, in a district whose mayor was also arrested and dismissed from office and where thousands of young people had marched on Tuesday evening to the applause of local residents, their faces often masked for fear of being identified by the police.
President Erdogan, who hardened his tone against the opposition on Wednesday, suggesting that new corruption investigations could fall on the CHP, has repeatedly said that he would not give in to the "terror of the street".
The authorities, who have banned gatherings in several major cities in the country, announced on Tuesday that they had arrested more than 1,400 demonstrators since the beginning of the wave of protests.
See alsoTurkey: Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the march towards dictatorship?
French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday denounced "attacks" and "aggressions" in Turkey that "can only be regretted". "The systematic nature of the prosecution of opposition and civil society figures, the attacks on the freedom to inform, to assemble, the arrest and detention of the mayor of Istanbul are very clearly attacks and aggressions that we can only regret," the French president said after a meeting in Paris of a coalition of states supporting Ukraine.
With AFP
By AFP
March 26, 2025
Since the protests began exactly a week ago, nearly 1,500 people have been arrested - Copyright GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP Andrew Harnik
Hazel WARD and Fulya OZERKAN
Protesters were defiant Wednesday despite a growing crackdown and nearly 1,500 arrests as they marked a week since the start of Turkey’s biggest street demonstrations against the rule of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan since 2013.
The protests erupted on March 19 after the arrest of Istanbul opposition mayor Ekrem Imamoglu as part of a graft and “terror” probe, which his supporters denounced as a “coup”.
Vast crowds have hit the street daily, defying protest bans in Istanbul and other big cities and the arrests with 1,418 people held up to Tuesday according to official figures.
Those detained include AFP journalist Yasin Akgul, who the Paris-based agency says was doing his job covering the protests.
Erdogan, who has repeatedly denounced the protests as “street terror”, stepped up his attacks on the opposition with a bitter tirade against the main opposition Republican People’s (CHP) party of Imamoglu and its leader Ozgur Ozel.
In a possible shift in tactics, Ozel said the CHP was not calling for another nightly protest Wednesday outside the Istanbul mayor office, instead urging people to attend a mega rally on Saturday.
But it was far from certain that angry students, who have taken an increasingly prominent role in the protests and are far from all CHP supporters, would stay off the streets.
Most nights, the protests have turned into running battles with riot police, whose crackdown has alarmed rights groups. But there were no such clashes on Tuesday, AFP correspondents said.
– ‘No room left in Istanbul prisons’ –
The arrest of Akgul, who was remanded in custody on Tuesday along with six other journalists who were also arrested in dawn raids on Monday, was denounced by rights groups and Agence France – Presse, which said the 35-year-old’s jailing was “unacceptable” and demanded his immediate release.
“We are deeply concerned by reports of repression against protesters and journalists in Turkey,” said a French foreign ministry source, asking not to be named, adding that Akgul “was covering the protests professionally”.
Addressing the vast crowds gathered for a seventh straight night at Istanbul City Hall, Ozel said the crackdown would only strengthen the protest movement.
“There is one thing that Mr Tayyip should know: our numbers won’t decrease with the detentions and arrests, we will grow and grow and grow!” he vowed.
The extent of the crackdown, he said, meant there was “no room left in Istanbul’s prisons”.
Imamoglu also posted a defiant message targeting Erdogan on his social media channels, vowing to “send him away at the ballot box”, accusing the Turkish leader of “staying behind closed doors in Ankara not to govern Turkey but to protect his seat”.
“We will be one… we will succeed,” he added.
Erdogan himself took aim at Ozel in a speech to his party, dismissing the CHP leader as “a politically bankrupt figure whose ambitions and fears have taken his mind captive”.
The CHP, he claimed, had created “too much material even for Brazilian soap operas” with corruption cases in Istanbul municipalities.
– ‘We are not terrorists’ –
Although the crackdown has not reduced the numbers, most students who joined a huge street rally on Tuesday had their faces covered, an AFP correspondent said.
“We want the government to resign, we want our democratic rights, we are fighting for a freer Turkey right now,” a 20-year-old student who gave his name as Mali told AFP.
“We are not terrorists, we are students and the reason we are here is to exercise our democratic rights and to defend democracy,” he said.
Like most protesters, his face was covered and he refused to give his surname for fear of reprisals.
Another masked student who gave her name as Lydia, 25, urged more people to hit the streets.
“All Turkish people should take to the streets, they are hunting us like vermin (while) you are sitting at home. Come out, look after us! We are your students, we are your future,” she said, her anger evident.
Unlike previous days, the CHP’s Ozel said there would be no rally at City Hall on Wednesday, but called protesters to rally instead on Saturday in the Istanbul district of Maltepe to demand early elections.
Erdogan takes Turkey to new crossroads with mayor’s arrest: analysts
By AFP
March 26, 2025
Turkey has seen a week of huge protests - Copyright AFP Angelos Tzortzinis
Stuart Williams
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has taken Turkey closer to autocracy with the arrest of the elected mayor of Istanbul, but the scale of the ensuing protests could yet shake his grip, analysts say.
Long accused by opponents of presiding over a drift into authoritarianism, analysts say Erdogan crossed a new line with the arrest last week of the elected mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu, a popular and charismatic figure who made no secret of his desire to challenge the Turkish strongman.
Turkey’s political life remains based on a cycle of municipal, presidential and legislative elections and it does not yet resemble Russia — where presidential elections turned into a rubber stamp of Vladimir Putin’s authority — or Iran where the supreme leader is chosen for life by a clerical body.
But the apparent bid to eliminate Imamoglu as a political force represents a major turning point in modern Turkish history which is not without risks for Erdogan, analysts say, with tens of thousands pouring into the streets every night to protest.
“It may not yet be a dictatorship, but it is well on the way to becoming one,” Didier Billion, deputy director of France’s Institute for International and Strategic Relations (IRIS), told AFP.
“It’s clear that there’s been a kind of acceleration, a deepening of the government’s repressive course,” he added.
According to the Turkish interior ministry, over 1,400 people have been arrested after taking part in the demonstrations. Among them is AFP photographer Yasin Akgul, whose detention for covering the protest as a journalist the agency condemned as “unacceptable”.
Billion said while the arrest of Imamoglu was the “spark that set off the fire” the protests were going further than demanding his release and “are the expression of a growing exasperation among a large part of the population, although not the whole population.”
– ‘Make or break’ –
Already looming large in Turkey is the shadow of the next presidential election, due by 2028, for which Imamoglu had been about to announce his candidacy just before his arrest.
In theory, Erdogan, 71, is barred by the constitution from standing again but speculation is rife he will circumvent this with an amendment or by calling snap polls before his full mandate expires.
He has dominated Turkey for almost a quarter of a century, with his Islamic-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP) first winning power in 2002, Erdogan himself becoming premier in 2003 and then president from 2014. Since 2018, he has ruled in a presidential system with the office of premier abolished.
While international observers complain that Turkish elections are marked by an uneven playing field with opposition voices squeezed on state TV, there remains confidence in the voting process.
The arrest of Imamoglu is a move by Erdogan “to stay in power by eliminating his most popular rival,” said Yusuf Can, coordinator for the Wilson Center’s Middle East Program.
But he said Turkish people, especially the young, were braving a “lot of the police brutality and arrests” in a mass movement unseen in Turkey since the 2013 Gezi uprising over the redevelopment of an Istanbul park.
“Younger people in Turkey have lost faith in the future under Erdogan and essentially do not see a future under Erdogan. This is a make-or-break point for younger people especially,” he said.
Mainstream television and newspapers have been brought under Erdogan’s control in recent years with mainly Internet-based channels and publications offering an alternative viewpoint.
– ‘Repression will increase’ –
As well as political risk, Erdogan is also flirting with financial peril.
The Turkish central bank has stepped in with mass interventions to prop up the lira, with economists saying it has spent more than $20 billion trying to prop up its value.
Asli Aydintasbas, visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution, said while it was possible the street demonstrations will “taper off over the next weeks” amid the crackdown, Erdogan “cannot control how people vote” even after consolidating all branches of power in the last years.
“It is closer to the Iranian or Russian system — but still not there,” she said. “The opposition can still have a good game if they play their cards right and maintain the coalition they have built in previous elections.”
The situation poses a challenge as well as an opportunity for Imamoglu’s opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), whose leader Ozgur Ozel, a former pharmacist and a much lower-profile figure than the Istanbul mayor, must decide how far to ride the protest wave.
Marc Pierini, senior fellow at Carnegie Europe, said a “degree of panic” had set in among Erdogan supporters after recent polls highlighted Imamoglu’s popularity.
“The protest will likely continue and may have already escaped from CHP control. Repression will increase inevitably. The impact on the economy will be very damaging. All this will sharply erode Erdogan’s image.”
But he added: “I am not sure at all it will erode his grip on power.”
Istanbul court jails 7 journalists as protesters fill streets
By AFP
March 25, 2025
Vast crowds have hit the streets daily since the March 19 move against Istanbul's popular opposition mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu - Copyright AFP ROBERTO SCHMIDT
Fulya OZERKAN
Thousands of students chanting angry slogans hit the streets of Istanbul on Tuesday as a court jailed an AFP journalist and six others for covering the biggest protests to hit Turkey in over a decade.
The demonstrations erupted after the arrest of the mayor of Istanbul, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s main political rival, in a crackdown that has seen more than 1,400 people arrested, including 11 Turkish journalists.
Seven of them were remanded in custody by an Istanbul court on Tuesday, among them AFP photographer Yasin Akgul, drawing a sharp rebuke from the Paris-based news agency.
“His imprisonment is unacceptable. This is why I am asking you to intervene as quickly as possible to obtain the rapid release of our journalist,” the agency’s CEO and chairman Fabrice Fries said in a letter to the Turkish presidency.
The court charged Akgul, 35, and the others with “taking part in illegal rallies and marches”, though Fries said Akgul was “not part of the protest” but only covering it as a journalist.
Media freedom group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) denounced the decision as “scandalous”, with its Turkey representative Erol Onderoglu saying it “reflects a very serious situation in Turkey”.
– ‘Dark time for democracy’ –
Vast crowds have defied a protest ban to hit the streets daily since the March 19 move against Istanbul’s opposition mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu, with the unrest spreading across Turkey and prompting nightly clashes with security forces.
On Tuesday, thousands of students marched through the upmarket Nisantasi district, chanting “Government, resign!” and waving flags and banners, watched by a large deployment of riot police.
Many had their faces covered with scarves or masks, and acknowledged they feared being identified by the police.
“We can’t express ourselves freely,” a student who gave her name as Nisa told AFP, saying she nonetheless joined the protest “to defend democracy”.
With riot police using water cannon, pepper spray and rubber bullets against protesters, the Council of Europe denounced the “disproportionate” use of force while Human Rights Watch said it was a “dark time for democracy” in Turkey.
The United Nations also voiced alarm at Turkey’s use of mass detentions and its “unlawful blanket ban on protests”, urging the authorities to probe any unlawful use of force.
“All those detained for the legitimate exercise of their rights must be released immediately and unconditionally,” UN rights office spokeswoman Liz Throssell said.
– ‘Political coup’ –
Imamoglu, 53, of the opposition CHP party, is widely seen as the only politician capable of defeating Erdogan, who has ruled the NATO member for a quarter of a century.
But Imamoglu has now been stripped of his mayorship and jailed over a graft and terror probe that his supporters denounce as a “political coup”.
By Tuesday, police had detained 1,418 suspects for taking part in “illegal demonstrations”, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya wrote on X, warning there would be “no concessions” for those who “terrorise the streets”.
Erdogan has remained defiant in the face of the protests, vowing in a message on social media late Monday that Turkey would “not fall for this dirty trick” and denouncing the protesters as “street terrorists”.
– ‘Deeply shocking’ –
Amnesty International demanded an immediate halt to police violence, saying it had reviewed footage that was “deeply shocking”.
“This is a dark time for democracy in Turkiye, with such a blatantly lawless move to weaponise the justice system to cancel the democratic process,” said Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch, using the Turkish form of the country’s name.
At Monday’s rally, CHP head Ozgur Ozel announced a boycott of 10 companies and organisations.
Among them were pro-government TV channels that have avoided broadcasting protest images, along with a cafe chain known for being close to the government.
On Sunday, Imamoglu was overwhelmingly chosen as the CHP’s candidate for a 2028 presidential run, with observers saying it was the looming primary that triggered the move against him.
By AFP
March 25, 2025
Vast crowds have hit the streets daily since the March 19 move against Istanbul's popular opposition mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu - Copyright AFP ROBERTO SCHMIDT
Fulya OZERKAN
Thousands of students chanting angry slogans hit the streets of Istanbul on Tuesday as a court jailed an AFP journalist and six others for covering the biggest protests to hit Turkey in over a decade.
The demonstrations erupted after the arrest of the mayor of Istanbul, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s main political rival, in a crackdown that has seen more than 1,400 people arrested, including 11 Turkish journalists.
Seven of them were remanded in custody by an Istanbul court on Tuesday, among them AFP photographer Yasin Akgul, drawing a sharp rebuke from the Paris-based news agency.
“His imprisonment is unacceptable. This is why I am asking you to intervene as quickly as possible to obtain the rapid release of our journalist,” the agency’s CEO and chairman Fabrice Fries said in a letter to the Turkish presidency.
The court charged Akgul, 35, and the others with “taking part in illegal rallies and marches”, though Fries said Akgul was “not part of the protest” but only covering it as a journalist.
Media freedom group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) denounced the decision as “scandalous”, with its Turkey representative Erol Onderoglu saying it “reflects a very serious situation in Turkey”.
– ‘Dark time for democracy’ –
Vast crowds have defied a protest ban to hit the streets daily since the March 19 move against Istanbul’s opposition mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu, with the unrest spreading across Turkey and prompting nightly clashes with security forces.
On Tuesday, thousands of students marched through the upmarket Nisantasi district, chanting “Government, resign!” and waving flags and banners, watched by a large deployment of riot police.
Many had their faces covered with scarves or masks, and acknowledged they feared being identified by the police.
“We can’t express ourselves freely,” a student who gave her name as Nisa told AFP, saying she nonetheless joined the protest “to defend democracy”.
With riot police using water cannon, pepper spray and rubber bullets against protesters, the Council of Europe denounced the “disproportionate” use of force while Human Rights Watch said it was a “dark time for democracy” in Turkey.
The United Nations also voiced alarm at Turkey’s use of mass detentions and its “unlawful blanket ban on protests”, urging the authorities to probe any unlawful use of force.
“All those detained for the legitimate exercise of their rights must be released immediately and unconditionally,” UN rights office spokeswoman Liz Throssell said.
– ‘Political coup’ –
Imamoglu, 53, of the opposition CHP party, is widely seen as the only politician capable of defeating Erdogan, who has ruled the NATO member for a quarter of a century.
But Imamoglu has now been stripped of his mayorship and jailed over a graft and terror probe that his supporters denounce as a “political coup”.
By Tuesday, police had detained 1,418 suspects for taking part in “illegal demonstrations”, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya wrote on X, warning there would be “no concessions” for those who “terrorise the streets”.
Erdogan has remained defiant in the face of the protests, vowing in a message on social media late Monday that Turkey would “not fall for this dirty trick” and denouncing the protesters as “street terrorists”.
– ‘Deeply shocking’ –
Amnesty International demanded an immediate halt to police violence, saying it had reviewed footage that was “deeply shocking”.
“This is a dark time for democracy in Turkiye, with such a blatantly lawless move to weaponise the justice system to cancel the democratic process,” said Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch, using the Turkish form of the country’s name.
At Monday’s rally, CHP head Ozgur Ozel announced a boycott of 10 companies and organisations.
Among them were pro-government TV channels that have avoided broadcasting protest images, along with a cafe chain known for being close to the government.
On Sunday, Imamoglu was overwhelmingly chosen as the CHP’s candidate for a 2028 presidential run, with observers saying it was the looming primary that triggered the move against him.
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