Quotes
We have laws on the books here that are not being obeyed. So there is no rule of law,
her mother said, breaking off to join in a burst of chants demanding the government resign This situation is a step closer towards one-man rule, and we have to do something about it,
said a lawyer who gave her name only as Özlem Ekrem İmamoğlu’s only crime is leading in the polls,
the CHP leader, Özgür Özel, told the assembled crowds, who responded with cheers I’m not here for political reasons. This is about something more than politics. This is about injustice,
said an Istanbul university student, Beril, who had showed up to protest along with her mother They can’t put İmamoğlu in jail – if they try to do that, he’ll only get more support,
We got too complacent about the situation here, so now this could really be the beginning of something,
Instead of attacking us, Mr. Özel should articulate his stance on these allegations. Does he say that he believes these accusations to be false? Does he publicly declare, 'If the claims are proven true, I will resign as party leader?’
Mr. Özel’s use of such terms once again reveals a serious issue with political literacy within the CHP, as these concepts should not serve as the foundation for any political evaluation,
AKP spokesperson Ömer Çelik told press members on March 20. You cannot and must not remain silent,
Imamoglu wrote on X, referring to his detention Imamoglu won the mayoral elections [in Istanbul] twice – he won the last one with a huge margin of around 52 percent,
said Al Jazeera’s Sinem Koseoglu, reporting from Turkiye Millions of us will be on the streets and will cast our votes on Sunday,
Özel said, referring to the primaries for the nomination of the main opposition’s presidential candidate There will be two ballot boxes: One for the CHP members and the other one for those who want to demonstrate solidarity with our next president, Ekrem İmamoğlu,
We will all go and vote together on Sunday,
Yavaş said, expressing his support for İmamoğlu I invite 86 million people [of Türkiye] to object, raise their voices, make themselves heard and stand up,
Özel said in an address to a crowd gathered in front of the Istanbul Municipality late on March 19 in reaction to the detention of İmamoğlu and more than 100 others This is a coup attempt. What happened on March 19 was a coup attempt. The people’s will is being usurped through a judicial move,
We can only call for an immediate end to this and for the opposition and the government to compete with each other rather than the opposition being put on trial,
It is depressing for democracy in Turkey, but it is certainly also depressing for relations between Europe and Turkey.”
That is why the arrest of such a key opposition politician as the mayor of Istanbul is a very, very bad sign,
Imamoglu's only crime was that he was taking the lead in opinion polls, his only crime was that he won the hearts of the people. His only crime was he would be the next president,
If Imamoglu's arrest unites the opposition and provokes a political backlash, it could upset the government's plan to push through constitutional change that would enable Erdogan to run for a third term,