Turkiye detains 37 people over social media posts on Imamoglu
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Turkiye has detained 37 suspects for allegedly making "provocative posts inciting crime and hatred" over the detention of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu.
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Protesters scuffle with anti-riot police outside City Hall while protesting the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu in Istanbul, Turkey, on March 19, 2025. (AP)
Turkiye arrested 37 individuals for allegedly posting "provocative posts inciting crime and hatred" in response to the detention of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, the Interior Ministry reported on Thursday.
Imamoglu, a leading opponent of President Tayyip Erdogan, was arrested on Wednesday on charges including corruption and supporting a terrorist group. The main opposition party condemned this as a "coup attempt against the next president."
Authorities in Turkiye identified 261 social media accounts, including 62 located abroad, which shared "provocative posts" after Imamoglu's arrest, and 105 others have been detained.
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya stated that efforts are ongoing to apprehend the remaining suspects. He also revealed that over 18.6 million posts about Imamoglu were shared on X within 24 hours of his detention.
Bu Millet Büyüktür! pic.twitter.com/Pgxkty4uLK
— Ekrem İmamoğlu (@ekrem_imamoglu) March 19, 2025
Protests in Turkey are spreading to all cities. Almost all journalists who were supposed to report what was happening there to the world had their accounts censored by Elon pic.twitter.com/SZGy5bJNXo
— Anonymous🏴 (@Parrattarna) March 19, 2025
Chants opposing 𝐃𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐄𝐫𝐝𝐨𝐠𝐚𝐧 are now echoing all over Turkey.
— Enes Kanter FREEDOM (@EnesFreedom) March 19, 2025
🇹🇷 Brave people of Turkey are rising against the 𝐃𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐄𝐫𝐝𝐨𝐠𝐚𝐧 and his cultish regime who arrest democratic opponents through treachery. pic.twitter.com/amuYaToYXE
Thousands of Turks took to the streets on Wednesday night in multiple cities to protest the arrest of Imamoglu on corruption charges.
Tens of thousands of demonstrators gathered in Istanbul, Ankara, Trabzon, and Izmir, calling for the resignation of Erdogan’s government.
Following Imamoglu's arrest, the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP)—of which he is a leading member—called for nationwide demonstrations and urged its supporters to gather outside party offices across Turkiye.
According to Turkish media, riot police used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse protesters, as tensions escalated in major cities.
