In Images: Protest in the Streets of Istanbul
Emin Özmen returns to his native Turkey to document the widespread protest and police violence after the arrest of Ekrem İmamoğlu
On Sunday, March 23, Emin Özmen documented scenes in Istanbul as tens of thousands of people took to the streets in front of its city hall for the fifth night in a row, protesting the detention of Ekrem İmamoğlu, the mayor of Istanbul and main political opponent of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Özmen’s images depict gatherings of protestors and riot police on the streets, leading to clashes where police fired rubber bullets and clouds of tear gas into the crowds.
İmamoğlu was arrested on March 19 under corruption and bribery charges, along with dozens of his staff, on the same day as his nomination to run for president as the leader of the social democratic Republican People’s Party that same day. Prior to his arrest, Istanbul University stripped İmamoğlu of his diploma, without which he cannot run for president.
"As of Wednesday, March 26 over 1,400 protestors and over 10 journalists have been arrested by Turkish police. "
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At dawn on Monday, March 24, the homes of several journalists were raided and the individuals detained for “their reporting of protests in support of Ekrem İmamoğlu,” the National Union of Journalists reports.
“Yasin Akgül (AFP), Ali Onur Tosun (Now TV News), Bülent Kılıç (freelance journalist), Zeynep Kuray, Kurtuluş Arı (İBB, İstanbul Municipality), Hayri Tunç, Gökhan Kam and Barış İnce were among journalists detained. In İzmir, Murat Kocabaş, photojournalist, was taken into custody at his home by officers from the Anti-Terrorism Branch (TEM).
“Journalist Zişan Gür was also detained while reporting from a protest site on 23 March. The IFJ reports Yağız Barut was also held by authorities.”
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