Istanbul, Mar. 27, (dpa/GNA) — Following the arrest of 260 people in nationwide demonstrations against the jailing of popular opposition presidential challenger Ekrem İmamoğlu, the Turkish government turned towards the media, banning some broadcasters and heavily fining them.
In a parallel crackdown on government-critical media, Turkey’s media watchdog RTÜK on Thursday imposed unprecedented penalties on several broadcasters, including Sözcü TV, Halk TV, Now TV and Tele 1. They are facing hefty fines and temporary blackouts for their coverage of the protests.
Sözcü TV will be banned from broadcasting for 10 days for “inciting hatred,” RTÜK opposition member İlhan Taşçı wrote on social media platform X.
The opposition decried the fines as effectively silencing dissenting voices amid the escalating political fallout.
The crackdown follows the mass arrests as 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.
Many no longer in custody
Hundreds of these have either been freed, released on bail or are still undergoing legal proceedings, Yerlikaya told reporters.
The released include nine journalists among them an AFP photographer, rights groups said.
All protestors were detained on charges of “resisting the police,” an interior ministry spokesperson told dpa over the phone.
It was immediately unclear what the 260 jailed are accused of.
Minister Yerlikaya claimed some detainees had links to “terrorist organizations” and had criminal records.
Protesters on the streets despite bans
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.
Despite bans, protests have continued in major cities for the seventh night on Wednesday, with thousands demanding İmamoğlu’s release.
Further protests are planned, including a rally in Istanbul for Saturday called for by İmamoğlu’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP).
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 CHP rejects the case as politically motivated and blames Erdoğan for masterminding a “coup.”
Erdoğan contends the opposition is trying to cover up corruption.
CHP knocked Erdoğan’s party out of Istanbul City Hall
Erdoğan’s Islamic conservatives lost Istanbul, a key economic powerhouse, to İmamoğlu in 2019 after 25 years of rule. Erdoğan started his political rise as Istanbul mayor in the early 1990s.
İmamoğlu, a charismatic mayor, who like Erdoğan is also a former businessman, was re-elected as Istanbul mayor by an even wider margin in 2024 polls.
“İmamoğlu cannot simply be written off, he remains highly popular. The critical question is whether he will still be allowed to run for the presidency,” political analyst Berk Esen told dpa.
Meanwhile, Turkish Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç on Thursday dismissed international criticism over İmamoğlu’s arrest as “biased.”
Tunç did not rule out a possible appointment of a government official as Istanbul mayor. There are concerns that such scenario is possible should İmamoğlu be convicted of any terror crime.
The CHP on Wednesday named their acting mayor to temporarily replace İmamoğlu’s.
GNA
PDC