Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan called the massive protests over the jailing of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu a “movement of violence.
According to Reuters, the Turkish president on Monday, March 24, 2025, slammed the growing protests and warned that the main opposition party will be held accountable for the property damage and injured police officers during the demonstrations.
Related: Turkey detains opposition leader Ekrem Imamoglu, sparking nationwide outrage
The 71-year-old said, “As a nation, we followed with surprise the events that emerged after the main opposition leader's call to take to the streets following an Istanbul-based corruption operation turned into a movement of violence.”
“The main opposition is responsible for our (injured) police officers, the broken windows of our shopkeepers and the damaged public property. They will be held accountable for all this, politically in parliament and legally by the judiciary,” he added.
Turkey was rocked with the biggest street protest in more than a decade after the main political rival of Erdogan and mayor of Istanbul was arrested last Wednesday, and later the court on Sunday, March 23, 2025, jailed him, pending the trial.
Opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) and its supporters who came out on the streets claimed that the corruption charges against Imamoglu are undemocratic and politically driven.
The federal government is trying to deal with the widespread protest that turned into riot police with the help of tear gas, rubber bullets, closing roads and bridges and banning demonstrations.
Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya, in a post on X, wrote that between 19 March and 23 March 2025, at least 1,133 people who were threatening the peace and national security have been detained.
Meanwhile, 123 police officers were injured in the protests.
Related: Turkey: Protesters continue demonstrations despite government ban
