ISTANBUL- Turkish authorities have arrested 260 people in nationwide demonstrations against the jailing of popular opposition presidential challenger Ekrem İmamoğlu, the government said on Thursday.
Over the past week, Turkey has seen its biggest protest wave and political crisis in over a decade.
A day before his detention on March 19, İmamoğlu was stripped of his university diploma, a pre-requisite for Turkish presidential candidacy, then jailed and ousted as Istanbul mayor.
Initially nearly 1,900 protestors were detained, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said in Ankara.
Hundreds of these have either been freed, released on bail or are still undergoing legal proceedings, Yerlikaya said.
All protestors were detained on charges of “resisting the police,” he said.
Minister Yerlikaya claimed some detainees had links to “terrorist organisations” and had criminal records.
He also reported that 150 police officers were injured, accusing protestors of violence.
In a sweeping crackdown on protests, the government banned gatherings in major cities, raided addresses and police used force, including tear gas, in several incidents.
Meanwhile, local media freedom group reported that nine of the 11 journalists arrested while covering protests, including an AFP photographer, have been freed on Thursday, while two remain in custody.
İmamoğlu, long-time ruler President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s strongest political rival, was jailed last week on corruption charges.
He faces terrorism-linked charges in a separate probe.
İmamoğlu denies the charges.
İmamoğlu’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) rejects the case as politically motivated and blames Erdoğan for masterminding a “coup.” (dpa/NAN)
