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Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera
Politics

Turkiye detains over 1,100 as Erdogan blames ‘evil’ opposition for protests

Protesters hold purple smoke flares during a rally in support of Istanbul's arrested mayor at Istanbul's city hall on March 24, 2025 [Ozan Kose/AFP]

Turkish police have detained 1,113 people across the country over five days of protests as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan blames the main opposition party for the unrest sparked by the detention of his main political rival.

Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya confirmed the total number of arrests on Monday after a fifth night of the largest anti-government protests the country has seen in more than a decade. They started after Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu was arrested on Wednesday and charged with corruption, aiding the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), and leading a criminal organisation.

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