Thousands rally outside Istanbul city hall for 2nd night over mayor's arrest

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Thousands rally outside Istanbul city hall for 2nd night over mayor's arrest

2025-03-21 05:21 Last Updated At：05:31

ISTANBUL (AP) — Thousands of people gathered at Istanbul’s city hall for a second night Thursday to rally against the arrest of the city’s mayor, which many see as a politically driven attempt to remove a key rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan from the next presidential race.

Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu was arrested in a dawn raid on his residence on Wednesday over alleged corruption and terror links, escalating a crackdown on opposition figures and dissenting voices. Several other prominent figures, including two district mayors, were also detained.

The detention of the popular opposition leader deepened concerns over democracy and sparked protests in Istanbul and elsewhere, despite road closures and a four-day ban on demonstrations in the city.

It also caused a shockwave in the financial market, triggering temporary halts in trading on Wednesday to prevent panic selling.

Addressing the rally outside city hall, Ozgur Ozel, the leader of mayor’s Republican People’s Party, or CHP, called on supporters to take to the streets to claim their rights without resorting to violence. “Yes, I am calling the people to the streets,” he said.

Mansur Yavas, the mayor of the capital Ankara and another popular opposition figure, joined the rally, calling on all opposition parties to join forces against “injustices.”

Police blocked a group of youths who attempted to breach a barricade in an effort to march toward Taksim, Istanbul's central square and used pepper spray to break them up. In Ankara, police deployed tear gas and water cannons to disperse a protest at the city's prestigious Middle East Technical University. Protests also broke out in the cities of Adana and Izmir.

The Interior Ministry said six police officers were injured in scuffles with demonstrators in Istanbul.

Critics see the crackdown as an effort by Erdogan to extend his more then two-decade rule following significant losses by the ruling party in local elections last year. Government officials reject claims that legal actions against opposition figures are politically motivated and insist that the courts operate independently.

Omer Celik, the spokesman of Erdogan's ruling Justice and Development Party, disputed allegations by the opposition that the detentions were government-orchestrated and urged respect for the judicial process.

“What a politician should do is to follow the judicial process,” Celik told journalists. “None of us have any information about the content of the (criminal) file.”

He also rejected accusations leveled by the main opposition Republican People's Party, or CHP, that the mayor’s arrest amounted to a “coup” saying, “The name of our party, our president can only be associated with democracy — on the opposite side of a coup.”

In his first comments on the mayor's detention, Erdogan accused the opposition of failing to respond to the allegations of corruption with evidence or legal arguments.

"The opposition never responds to the allegations brought forward by the judiciary," Erdogan said. “Instead, they confine the matter to political slogans, resorting to the easy way of provoking their base and deceiving the public.”

Earlier, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said authorities had detained dozens of people for sharing “provocative” social media content related to the mayor's detention.

The authorities identified 261 social media accounts that shared posts that allegedly incited public hatred or crime, including 62 that are run by people based abroad, Yerlikaya wrote on X. At least 37 of the suspected owners were detained and efforts to detain other suspects were continuing.

Imamoglu's arrest came just days before he was expected to be nominated as the opposition Republican People’s Party's presidential candidate in a primary scheduled for Sunday. The party’s leader has said the primary will go ahead as planned.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz expressed concern over the mayor’s detention, saying it was a “very, very bad sign” for Turkey’s relations with the European Union.

Scholz said it was “depressing for democracy in Turkey, but certainly also depressing for the relationship between Europe and Turkey.”

“We can only call for this to end immediately and for opposition and government to stand in competition with each other, and not the opposition being brought to court,” he said.

Prosecutors accused Imamoglu of exploiting his position for financial gain, including the improper allocation of government contracts.

In a separate investigation, prosecutors also accuse Imamoglu of aiding the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, by allegedly forming an alliance with Kurdish groups for the Istanbul municipal elections. The PKK, behind a decades-long insurgency in Turkey, is designated a terrorist organization by Ankara, Washington and other allies.

It was not clear when authorities would begin questioning the mayor, who can be detained without charges for up to four days. Analysts say Imamoglu could be removed from office and replaced by a “trustee mayor” if he is formally charged with links to the PKK.

Before his detention, Imamoglu already faced multiple criminal cases that could result in prison sentences and a political ban. He is also appealing a 2022 conviction for insulting members of Turkey’s Supreme Electoral Council, a case that could result in a political ban.

This week, a university nullified his diploma, citing alleged irregularities in his 1990 transfer from a private university in northern Cyprus to its business faculty, a decision Imamoglu said he would challenge. The decision effectively bars him from running for president, since the position requires candidates to be university graduates.

Imamoglu was elected mayor of Turkey’s largest city in March 2019, a historic blow to Erdogan and the president’s Justice and Development Party, which had controlled Istanbul for a quarter-century. Erdogan's party pushed to void the municipal election results in the city of 16 million, alleging irregularities.

The challenge resulted in a repeat of the election a few months later, which Imamoglu also won. The mayor retained his seat following local elections last year, during which his party made significant gains against Erdogan’s governing party.

Fraser reported from Ankara, Turkey. Geir Moulson contributed from Berlin.

McLaren's Piastri takes his first F1 pole at Chinese Grand Prix. Hamilton to start fifth

2025-03-22 18:38 Last Updated At：18:42

SHANGHAI (AP) — McLaren’s Oscar Piastri scored his maiden pole position in Formula 1 ahead of Sunday’s Chinese Grand Prix by delivering two sizzling laps that were quick enough for the top spot ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell.

The 23-year-old Australian, who is maximizing his weekend with second in Saturday morning’s Sprint race, said he’s “pretty pumped” to go one better Sunday, with the major challenge being tire wear.

Piastri, who will start the 56-lap race two places ahead of McLaren teammate Lando Norris, set it up by putting it all on the line on his final Q3 lap.

“My first lap was honestly better than my second lap, but just at the end of the (back) straight I lost a bit of time and didn’t do the best hairpin," Piastri said.

“On the second lap,” he continued, "I was about two-tenths down on myself. So, I kind of just went ‘why not send it into the hairpin’ and I gained those back, and found a little bit more in the last corner. I was tempted to box before that, so I’m pretty happy now that I didn’t.”

Norris, who won the season opening Australian Grand Prix, will start ahead of his expected title rival, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who was fourth.

Sprint winner Lewis Hamilton starts fifth for Ferrari ahead of teammate Charles Leclerc.

Russell will be on the front row for the 15th time and first since Qatar last year. The British driver was thrilled to split the McLarens given the pace deficit he previously highlighted.

“To be on the front row is a really great place to start,” Russell said.

Russell had also managed to pull out a searing final lap, describing the qualifying session as one of the hardest of his career, given the difficulty in managing the tires.

“The first lap in Q3, I was full-gas. And it seemed OK, I was thinking I was in P5 ... and then found four-tenths on my last lap,” he said.

Norris led the first segments of qualifying (Q1 and Q3) but said he’d done a “terrible job” in the session, having pitted on his final lap following a couple of mistakes.

"Oscar’s shown great pace. I definitely haven’t,” Norris said.

“Whenever we struggle with front (tire) graining, it’s something I just struggle with a lot," he added. "It’s difficult for me, it’s been a therefore difficult weekend, just trying to deal with those things. It’s not something I’m strong enough in.

The 25-year-old Norris said he has “a long night ahead of me” to analyze data “and see where I can improve for tomorrow.”

Racing Bulls, Red Bull’s second team, have again featured in the top 10, with F1 rookie Isack Hadjar — who crashed out of his opening race in Australia on the formation lap — set to start seventh, two places ahead of his experienced teammate Yuki Tsunoda.

Another rookie, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, is eighth for Mercedes.

Williams’ Alex Albon completed the top 10 and teammate Carlos Sainz Jr. will start from 15th.

Piastri’s first pole is also the first for an Australian since countryman Daniel Ricciardo for Red Bull at the 2018 Mexican Grand Prix

“It’s nice to do for myself, but it is also nice to do it for Australia as well," he said.

Sunday’s race starts at 3 p.m. local time (0700 GMT).

AP Formula 1: https://apnews.com/hub/formula-one

Thousands rally outside Istanbul city hall for 2nd night over mayor's arrest

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Thousands rally outside Istanbul city hall for 2nd night over mayor's arrest

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