Tensions flared anew in Turkey’s capital, Ankara, as police clashed with student protesters early Thursday, deploying pepper spray, plastic pellets, and water cannons.
This latest confrontation threatens to reignite widespread anti-government demonstrations, which had seen a brief lull after two days of relative calm.
The protests, sparked by the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu last week, represent the largest challenge to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government in over a decade.
Mr Imamoglu, a prominent rival to Mr Erdogan, faces corruption charges and accusations of supporting terrorism, allegations widely perceived as politically motivated.
While the government maintains the judiciary’s independence, critics argue the case against Mr Imamoglu relies on unsubstantiated claims from secret witnesses.
The latest clash occurred near Middle East Technical University, where students attempted to march and deliver a press statement, according to pro-opposition broadcaster Halk TV and local media reports.
Security forces intervened, using forceful tactics to disperse the gathering. Students sought refuge behind a makeshift barricade of dumpsters before police moved in to detain them.
Melih Meric, a lawmaker with Imamoglu’s Republican People’s Party (CHP), was caught in the crossfire, suffering from pepper spray exposure and drenched by water cannons.
In videos shared on social media, Meric said: “My student friends only wanted to make a press statement, but the police strictly did not allow it, this is the result.”
Officials have not said how many people were detained.
Also Thursday, eight journalists who were jailed awaiting trial after covering the protests were released, a media freedom group said.
Seven who were detained Tuesday in morning raids on their homes were released in Istanbul following appeals, the Media and Law Studies Association said, while an eighth was freed in the western port city of Izmir.
CHP leader Ozgur Ozel had promised that lawmakers would stand alongside protesters in the hope of lowering tensions. He also warned Tuesday that if the police provoked demonstrators, he would “call for 500,000 people to (come to) the place that will disturb” the authorities the most.
At least 1,400 people were detained in the first six days of the protests, the interior minister said Tuesday.
Demonstrations involving hundreds of thousands have swept across major cities, including opposition-organized rallies outside Istanbul City Hall. Other major protests have been held in Istanbul’s districts of Kadikoy and Sisli districts in recent days.
Meanwhile, Mr Imamoglu, speaking from prison via social media Wednesday, denounced police violence against protesters, “I cannot call them police because my honorable police would not commit this cruelty to the young children of the nation,” he said.
Mr Imamoglu has been confirmed as the CHP’s candidate for presidential elections due in 2028 but which could come earlier. He has performed well in recent polls against Mr Erdogan, for whom his election as mayor of Turkey’s largest city in 2019 was a major blow.
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