Hundreds Of Thousands Join Istanbul Protest Rally

Everywhere is Taksim, resistance is everywhere,

Some protesters were seen on board ferries crossing the Bosphorus, ... the French

With every move he makes against me, Erdogan shows that he is someone who runs away from elections and is afraid of his opponent,

the letter continued

I am not afraid at all. Because our dear nation is united,

he wrote from his high-security cell in Istanbul's Marmara prison

We are talking about a regime that bans or obstructs its shining stars. The practice of eliminating successful political actors is likely to continue,

Korkmaz suggested

There are so many people who want to live in a real democracy,

said Koyuncu

Such regimes either reform themselves or they increase the pressure,

Korkmaz said

He and his followers want him to stay in power and he is shaping his regime accordingly,

Esen said, noting

We are only at the beginning. It will get worse,

he told DW

What the regime is doing against Ekrem Imamoglu goes beyond anything we have seen before,

said Berk Esen, a political scientist at Sabanci University, who has conducted research into authoritarian trends in Turkey

Erdogan understood that he could not defeat Imamoglu,

said Esen, explaining

What we are seeing today is the justified anger of the young generation, whose future has been ripped away from them as a result of prolonged authoritarianism and persistent poverty,

explains Turkish political scientist Begum Uzun, who teaches at MEF University in Istanbul and is also a co-coordinator at the Istanbul Youth Research Center

Realising he cannot defeat me at the ballot box, Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has resorted to other means: having his main political opponent arrested on charges of corruption, bribery, leading a criminal network and aiding the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ party, even though the charges lack credible evidence,

İmamoğlu wrote

My detention marked a new phase in Turkey’s slide into authoritarianism and the use of arbitrary power. A country with a long democratic tradition now faces the serious risk of passing the point of no return.”

He added

Turkey is facing one of its gravest sociopolitical upheavals in decades,

it added

We believe the arrests will slow down from now,

he said

Washington merely expressed “concerns regarding recent arrests and protests” in Turkey. With few exceptions, European leaders have failed to offer a strong response,

he said

Anyone who takes a step back isn’t one of us.”

Acting Istanbul Mayor Nuri Aslan took the stage, delivering a firm message

They may try to stop me, but I trust in you,

the AI-generated message declared

This is about our nation—about justice, democracy, and freedom. Together with all of Türkiye’s opposition parties, we’re entering a historic moment,

the letter stated

This isn’t just a rally—it’s history in the making,

he said, claiming real-time attendance hit 2.2 million