The biggest protests in Turkey in over a decade erupted last week following the arrest of Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu on corruption charges, a move opposition supporters see as a blatant violation of the rule of law.
Among them was AFP photographer Yasin Akgul, drawing a sharp rebuke from the Paris-based news agency.
The court charged Akgul, 35, and the others with “taking part in illegal rallies and marches”, though Fries said Akgul was not part of the protest but only covering it as a journalist.
Media freedom group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) denounced the arrests as “scandalous”, with its Turkey representative Erol Onderoglu saying it “reflects a very serious situation in Turkey“.
Vast crowds have defied a protest ban to hit the streets daily since the March 19 arrest of Imamoglu, with the unrest spreading across Turkey and prompting nightly clashes with security forces.
“Those who spread terror in the streets and want to set fire to this country have nowhere to go. The path they have taken is a dead end,“ said Erdogan, who has ruled the NATO member for a quarter of a century.
They chanted “government, resign” and waved flags and banners as a large deployment of riot police stood by.
Many protesters covered their faces with scarves or masks to avoid being identified by the police.
Separately, thousands also rallied for the seventh straight night in a protest organised by Imamoglu's Republican People's Party (CHP) in the Sarachane district, home of the Istanbul city hall that Imamoglu ran since 2019.
“We have had enough and we want early elections,“ Ozel told protesters.
With riot police using water cannon, pepper spray and rubber bullets against protesters, the Council of Europe denounced a “disproportionate” use of force while Human Rights Watch said it was a “dark time for democracy” in Turkey.
In Washington, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio voiced “concerns” following a meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.
He added the extent of the crackdown was such that there was “no room left in Istanbul prisons”.
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