ANKARA (dpa-AFX) - Turkey has reportedly witnessed its largest street protests in more than a decade following the arrest of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's main political rival, Ekrem Imamoglu.
Thousands of university students marched through the streets of capital Istanbul chanting anti-government protests Tuesday evening under tight security cordon.
They converged outside the City Hall.
Main opposition party, the Republican People's Party announced that it would be the last in the week-long series of night vigils. It has called for a mass rally at the weekend to demand early elections.
Nation-wide protests erupted in Turkey last week after the arrest of Istanbul's mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, who has been charged with corruption and removed from office.
More than 1,400 people, including students, media professionals and lawyers, have been arrested during the protests.
The demonstrations were met with blanket bans on protests in three cities.
The UN human rights office expressed major concern over the detention of Imamoglu and the protesters by the Turkish authorities over the past week.
OHCHR spokesperson Liz Throssell urged their immediate and unconditional release.
'We urge the authorities to ensure that the rights to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly are guaranteed, in line with international law, and that credible allegations of unlawful use of force against protesters are promptly and thoroughly investigated'.
Copyright(c) 2025 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2025 AFX News
