Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has blamed opposition political parties for provoking a “movement of violence”, as protests in the country continue for a sixth night.
The unrest began in Istanbul last Wednesday when the city’s mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, Erdogan’s main presidential rival, was detained on corruption charges.
Thousands of people gathered once again on Monday. Unrest had escalated on Sunday night, with protesters fired on with tear gas and rubber bullets.
Imamoglu, also suspended from his post as mayor, said the allegations against him were politically motivated, a claim denied by Erdogan.
Large numbers of riot police accompanied protesters around Istanbul’s city hall on Monday night, as crowds chanted and waved Turkish flags.
Vehicles carrying water guns were also seen close by, though protests appeared to be largely peaceful with no repeat of the fierce clashes seen on Sunday.
In figures released before Monday evening’s gatherings, the Turkish government said 1,133 people had been arrested since the protests started.
In an earlier televised statement, Erdogan labelled the demonstrations “evil” and blamed opposition political parties for “disturbing the peace of our citizens with provocations”.
Speaking from Ankara, Turkey’s capital, he called for the protests to end and said that “instead of responding to allegations”, opposition parties had “made the most vile and unlawful statements in our political history for [the last] five days”.
CHP leader Özgür Özel spoke to the thousands gathered on Monday night He told the crowd that the demonstration was “an act of defiance against fascism”.
Özel said he would visit Imamoglu in jail in Silivri on Tuesday. He said the CHP would appeal for the politician to be released pending trial, and for his trial to be shown live on state broadcaster TRT.
Despite being in custody, Imamoglu was confirmed on Monday as the Republican People’s Party’s (CHP) candidate for Turkey’s 2028 presidential election. The vote confirming his candidacy was symbolic as he was the only person running.
He spent Sunday night in jail after being formally arrested and charged earlier that day with “establishing and managing a criminal organisation, taking bribes, extortion, unlawfully recording personal data and rigging a tender”.
In a post on X over the weekend, Imamoglu said he would “never bow” and criticised his arrest as a “black stain on our democracy”.
He also sent greetings to those protesting and said that voters had showed Turkey had had “enough” of Erdogan.
The demonstrations seen in recent days are the largest in Turkey since the Gezi protests of 2013, which began in Istanbul over the demolition of a local park.
They have been largely peaceful, but on Sunday police officers fired water cannons and used pepper spray as clashes unfolded.
Dilek Kaya Imamoglu, Imamoglu’s wife, was also outside Istanbul’s city hall and told demonstrators the “injustice” her husband faced had “struck a chord with every conscience”.
Imamoglu was one of more than 100 people detained last week as part of an investigation. Others arrested included politicians, journalists and businessmen.
His arrest does not prevent his candidacy or election as president, but he will not be able to run if he is convicted of any of the charges against him.
The jailed politician is seen as one of the most formidable rivals of Erdogan, who has held office in Turkey for 22 years as both prime minister and president.
However, due to term limits, Erdogan cannot run for office again in 2028 unless he changes the constitution.
Turkey’s Ministry of Justice criticised those connecting Erdogan to the arrests, and insisted on its judicial independence.
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