Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya disclosed the toll of days of riots after the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoğlu. Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Yerlikaya said 150 police officers were injured when rioters attacked them and hundreds were detained.
Imamoğlu was detained on March 19 and formally arrested on March 23. Between those dates and afterward, riots broke out across Türkiye as the mayor’s Republican People’s Party (CHP) sought to mobilize crowds to protest it. The CHP only on Wednesday concluded its protest outside Istanbul municipality hall but vowed to continue elsewhere.
The minister said that Imamoğlu’s arrest was followed by a process that threatened public peace and security, in the aftermath of CHP Chair Özgür Özel’s call to the public to take to the streets. He noted that riots disrupted the “brotherhood of the nation,” saying that police were attacked with stones, clubs, acid, axes and firebombs.
“Justice is not served on the streets but in courtrooms. No one can clear their name by taking to the streets. Attempting to suppress the law through street protests or silence justice through lynching campaigns benefits no one,” he said.
He stressed that Türkiye was bound by the rule of law, with deep-rooted democracy and strong institutions, adding that democracy is not a shield for hate speech and violence.
The minister acknowledged the right to assembly was a constitutional right. “Under our Constitution, everyone has the right to hold unarmed, peaceful meetings and demonstrations without prior permission,” he said, noting that they already had approved almost all gatherings and demonstrations last year.
Yerlikaya said 1,879 people were detained during the riots, and 260 among them were arrested, while 468 were released with judicial control and legal proceedings for 662 suspects were still underway.
He pointed out that among those detained were suspects linked to 12 different terrorist groups, adding that some suspects also had lengthy criminal records, ranging from drug offenses and sexual harassment to theft and fraud.
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