Turkey has detained more than 1,100 people – which also allegedly arrested 10 journalists on Monday morning – since mass protests were born on March 19 Istanbul’s famous Mayor Acryam Amloglo arrestedWho was emerging as an important rival for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and possibly an electoral challenge. Interior Minister Ali Yarlaika said Monday that 1,133 people were detained during the protest on charges of “illegal activities”, which were banned by authorities last week.
Despite the government’s insistence in Ankara that the arrest of Amoglu has nothing to do with his politics, a clear crackdown on disagreement has deepened concern about both Turkey and abroad. The cut of democracy Under Erdogan, who has been guideing the country for more than 20 years.
What is happening in Turkey?
Turkish journalists’ organization MLSA reported the arrest of 10 journalists in their homes on Monday morning, including photographer of French news agency AFP. The organization said 10 were detained “to cover the protests,” the organization said, most of them, especially to hide the mass demonstrations that were held daily outside the City Hall.
“What is being done to the press and the members of journalists is a matter of freedom. None of us can be silent about it,” said Delik Kaya Amoglo, the wife of the mayor of Istanbul.
Reuters
Despite the official ban, widespread arrests continued, as Akim Amoglo was sent to jail by a local court on corruption charges, at the hearing of the case, the move that his supporters had tried to “disagree with more quietly” in the country. Amogloo is also facing allegations of assisting terrorism, officials cited his contact Pro Kerdish Groups During the local elections last year.
Since its detention, major cities, including Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir, have been shaken by protests that have drawn tens of thousands of people on the streets, and have suffered the biggest unrest since then. Gizi Park protests In 2013.
Police used water guns and tear gas to disperse most of the young crowds at the end of the week.
Amogloo was detained a few days before the Republican People’s Party’s presidential candidate was expected to win a primary election. He was among the 100 people, including other politicians, journalists and businessmen, who were detained on Wednesday as part of the investigation.
He defeated Erdogan’s party candidates in the last three local elections to hold the mayor’s office. Erdogan began his political career as the mayor of Istanbul, which consists of 16 million people, often viewed as a political and social Turkish microcomism.
In a post on social media, Amogloo protested that his imprisonment was “not a judicial process” but an “illegal punishment”, demanding his supporters to “join the fight.” [their] Rights. “
Officials of the Erdogan administration have repeatedly said that politically encouraging the allegations against Amoglo is “wrong”, and that Minister for Justice Yelmaz Tonak has called for “independence of the judiciary” in Turkey.
Many of those meeting with the demands of peaceful protests of Amogloo have been chanted to university students and youth with Turkish flags and banners, which condemned Erdogan and the government.
Deate
A 26 -year -old nurse, who did not want to identify and did not cover her face with half the scarf, said she joined the protest to “claim her future”.
He called the imprisonment of Amogloo a “wake -up call” and said, “Those who are worried about their future are united here.”
“We are no longer afraid,” he said, despite his concerns about avoiding tears like asthma.
Another woman from the same age, who said she is currently unemployed, echoes emotions and said she is not only protesting to demand the release of Amoglovo, but is also protesting to emphasize “my own rights”.
Others said it was an economic concern to drag them on the streets, including a retired who said that they could no longer end and it was time to retire from Erdogan’s post. He said that despite being retired, he would have to choose strange jobs to take care of his two children.
“My 17 -year -old son has no hope for the future of this country,” he said. “I’m here for that.”
Reuters
Despite the imprisonment of Amoglo, the primary in which he was running as the only contender to stand as a CHP presidential candidate. In a statement, the CHP said that the mayor also received more than 13 million votes in the joke ballot boxes, which were kept across Turkey as a symbolic protest against the government and public support for them.
Even if the Amogloo is able to prove his innocence against corruption and terrorism allegations by Turkish courts, he will face other obstacles to take the presidency from Erdogan. The day before its detention, the University of Amloglo was canceled by the University of Istanbul University. Under the University Degree Turkish Law, there is a need to stand as a presidential candidate.
International reaction to the arrest of Amoglov in Turkey
European countries have emphasized a clear crackdown on disagreement in Turkey. The European Union, for which Turkey applied for membership more than two decades ago, had warned that Ankara should show “clear commitment to democratic principles”. Turkey’s bid has stopped with the European Union for at least the last nine years, which has highlighted the previous crackdown on disagreement and eliminated other concerns about freedoms and democratic institutions. Obstacles to Ankara’s membership.
Overnight, the French Foreign Ministry declared the arrest of Amoglo and massively “a serious attack on democracy”, while the governments of Germany and Greece also condemned the measures.
The Trump administration has said little about the protest since the arrest of Amoglov, and called it a “internal legal” issue for Turkey, but the State Department spokesman Temi Bruce Bruce Told reporters On Friday, the US government is pursuing these events, “including the mayor of Istanbul and a large number of municipal employees, journalists and others.”
Bruce said the Foreign Ministry will refer to the Turkish government to “comment on internal judicial issues”, but added that it is important for Turkish authorities to “make the freedoms and human rights of all its citizens according to the country’s constitution and according to our common values ​​and democratic traditions.”
