world freelance journalists association World Turksh pr Thousands gather outside Istanbul city hall for a second night over mayor’s arrest By MEHMET GUZEL and SUZAN FRASER Updated 12:21 AM GMT+3, March 21, 2025 Share ISTANBUL (AP) — Thousands of people gathered outside Istanbul city hall for a second night Thursday to protest the arrest of the city’s mayor, which many saw as a politically motivated attempt to remove a key rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan from the next presidential race. Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu was arrested in a dawn raid on his residence on Wednesday over allegations of corruption and terror links, and a crackdown on opposition figures and dissenting voices has intensified. Several other prominent figures, including two district mayors, have been detained. The arrest of the popular opposition leader has deepened concerns about democracy and triggered protests in Istanbul and elsewhere, despite road closures in the city and a four-day ban on demonstrations. It also sent shockwaves through the financial market, prompting temporary pauses in trading on Wednesday to prevent panic selling. Advertisement Addressing a rally outside City Hall, the mayor's Republican People's Party (CHP) leader, Özgür Özel, called on his supporters to take to the streets to demand their rights without resorting to violence. "Yes, I am calling on people to take to the streets," he said. RELATED COVERAGE People chant slogans as they march in protest against the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, Istanbul, Türkiye, Thursday, March 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra) Thousands gather in Istanbul after Erdoğan warns of protests over mayor’s arrest Ergin Doğan, 29, pulls his cart to pick up discarded cardboards near the New Mosque in Istanbul, Türkiye, Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco) The hidden workforce sifting through Istanbul’s trash A woman holds a poster of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu as she protests in front of a police cordon blocking roads leading to the Vatan Police Department, where İmamoğlu is expected to be taken after his arrest in Istanbul, Türkiye, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco) What we know about the Istanbul mayor and why he was arrested Mansur Yavaş, the mayor of the capital Ankara and another popular opposition figure, joined the rally, calling on all opposition parties to join forces against “injustice.” Police blocked and used tear gas to disperse a group of young people who tried to break through a barricade to march towards Istanbul’s central square, Taksim. In Ankara, police used tear gas and water cannons to break up a protest at the city’s prestigious Middle East Technical University. Protests also broke out in the cities of Adana and Izmir. The Interior Ministry said six police officers were injured in scuffles with demonstrators in Istanbul. Advertisement Erdogan’s party rejects accusations of interference Critics see the crackdown as an attempt to extend Erdogan’s more than two-decade rule after the ruling party suffered significant losses in local elections last year. Government officials reject claims that the cases filed against opposition figures are politically motivated and insist that the courts operate independently. Ömer Çelik, a spokesman for Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party, rejected opposition claims that the arrests were orchestrated by the government and called for respect for due process. "What a politician should do is follow the judicial process," Çelik told reporters. "None of us have any knowledge of the content of the (criminal) file." He also rejected accusations from the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) that the mayor's arrest amounted to a "coup," saying, "The name of our party, our president, can only be associated with democracy - the exact opposite of a coup." In his first comments on the mayor's arrest, Erdoğan accused the opposition of failing to respond to the corruption allegations with evidence or legal arguments. "The opposition never responds to the allegations put forward by the judiciary," Erdoğan said. "Instead, they confine the issue to political slogans, resorting to the easy way of provoking their base and deceiving the people." Advertisement Earlier, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said authorities had detained dozens of people for sharing "provocative" social media content about the mayor's arrest. Authorities have identified 261 social media accounts that allegedly incite hatred or crime in the public, 62 of which are run by people living abroad, Yerlikaya wrote on X. At least 37 of the suspected owners