 "Istanbul Mayor and Republican People's Party, or CHP, candidate Ekrem Imamoglu take photographs with supporters during a campaign rally in Istanbul, Turkey. File image/ AP")
Ekrem Imamoglu, the mayor of Istanbul, who is now in jail, had said that his lawyer has also been taken into custody on false pretenses.
“There is no end to lies or slander … This time, my lawyer Mehmet Pehlivan was detained on fictitious grounds,” Imamoglu said late on Thursday.
He added, “As if the coup against democracy was not enough, they cannot tolerate the victims of this coup defending themselves. They want to add a legal coup to the coup against democracy. The evil that a handful of incompetent people are inflicting on our country is growing. Release my lawyer immediately.”
Turkish newspaper Cumhuriyet reports that Pehlivan was taken to a police station for processing after his arrest, though no formal charges have been disclosed yet.
Media crackdown
Meanwhile, in Istanbul, which has been rocked by widespread protests over its mayor’s arrest, authorities have stepped up their crackdown on both student protesters and press coverage of the mass demonstrations.
“It’s a bit scary today, there are too many police,” a 21-year-old protester called Raftel told AFP at a rally in Istanbul, his face covered by a mask.
“We’re here for our rights but I’m scared,” he said, his words echoing the unease felt by thousands of young demonstrators who are still flooding Istanbul’s streets, eight days after the arrest of its mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu.
BBC correspondent Mark Lowen was removed from his hotel in Istanbul on Wednesday and held for 17 hours before being deported, with authorities citing that he posed “a threat to public order,” according to the broadcaster, which described the incident as “an extremely troubling incident.”
Europe slams Erdogan
Leaders across Europe have been condemning the large-scale protests with French President Emmanuel Macron sharply rebuking Ankara over its “systematic attacks” on opposition figures, civil society, freedom of assembly and “the Istanbul mayor’s arrest and jailing”.
Britain also weighed in after Turkey deported a BBC journalist covering the protests, saying it expected Ankara to ensure “the upholding of… the rule of law, including timely and transparent judicial processes”, a foreign ministry spokesperson said.
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More ShortsWith inputs from AFP