Turkish students hold fresh protests in Istanbul, Ankara
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The widespread protests saw a revival in the Turkish cities of Istanbul and Ankara amid a massive crackdown by Erdogan's government that arrested thousands of protesters.
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University students shout slogans during a protest in solidarity with fellow students who were detained at demonstrations after Istanbul's Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu was arrested, in Istanbul, Turkey, on Tuesday, April 8, 2025 (AP)
Turkish students flooded the streets of Istanbul and Ankara on Tuesday, reviving demonstrations sparked by the arrest of opposition mayor Ekrem Imamoglu.
CHP leader Ozgur Ozel pushes to expand demonstrations across Turkish cities, calling for a new mass protest in Istanbul by late Wednesday.
The campaign of protests, which represents the largest wave of demonstrations to grip Turkey since 2013, had seen a decline over the past 10 days due to the closure of universities and the ongoing celebrations marking the end of Ramadan.
Turkish media broadcasts showed thousands of students rallying on Istanbul’s Asian side, with heavy police deployment surrounding the protests; meanwhile, in the capital of Ankara, hundreds of university students also marched, according to images shared on social media and verified by AP.
Previously, the CHP leader Ozel pushed for a boycott day on goods and services with perceived ties to the Turkish president, which was later expanded on April 1 to include a halt of all shopping for one single day, prompting the Turkish government to condemn the movement.
As President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's chief political rival, Imamoglu saw his detention last month trigger mass protests that were met with a robust government crackdown – with nearly 2,000 arrests, including hundreds of students, made.
European Commission urges upholding Democratic values
As detentions continued, the European Commission called on the Republic to uphold democratic values and respect the right of its citizens to peaceful demonstrations, European Commission spokesman Guillaume Mercier said.
"As a Council of Europe member and EU candidate, Turkiye must uphold democratic values. These rights, the rights of elected officials, as well as the right of the peaceful demonstrations need to be fully respected," Mercier stated during a midday briefing on March 24.
Erdogan is isolating Turkey from EU, opposition leader says
On April 5, Ozel warned that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is actively driving the country further from its European partners, both politically and diplomatically.
In a video published by Turkish broadcaster Haberturk on social media platform X, CHP chair Ozgur Ozel voiced concern over recent diplomatic cancellations tied to the growing unrest within Turkey.
"I say this with regret: the visits of a number of members of the European Parliament to Turkey in April were canceled [following the arrest of Istanbul Mayor], the meetings of European officials with the Turkish Foreign Minister [Hakan Fidan] at the upcoming Antalya Diplomacy Forum were canceled. I am dismayed by this. Erdogan's policy is distancing Turkey from Europe, from the democratic league," he said.
