As of March 24, 2025, Turkey is experiencing significant protests sparked by the arrest and detention of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu on March 19, 2025. İmamoğlu, a prominent opposition figure from the Republican People’s Party (CHP) and a key rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, was detained on charges of corruption and alleged links to Kurdish militants—accusations widely viewed by his supporters as politically motivated to sideline him ahead of the 2028 presidential election. His arrest has ignited widespread unrest, marking some of the largest demonstrations in Turkey in over a decade, with hundreds of thousands taking to the streets across cities like Istanbul, Ankara, and İzmir.
A striking moment from these protests occurred on March 23, 2025, in Istanbul’s Saraçhane district, where a man dressed as a whirling dervish—a Sufi mystic known for their spinning dance as a form of meditation—participated in a rally supporting İmamoğlu. Wearing a gas mask to protect against tear gas, he was captured spinning in front of a police barricade when riot police targeted him with pepper spray. This incident, photographed by Reuters photographer Ümit Bektaş, went viral, becoming a powerful symbol of the protests. The image shows the dervish mid-spin, his traditional headwear falling as pepper spray hits him, highlighting both the peaceful nature of many demonstrators and the forceful police response.
The protests began after İmamoğlu’s detention and escalated when he was jailed pending trial on March 23, prompting a fifth night of mass demonstrations. Despite a government ban on gatherings, tens of thousands gathered outside Istanbul’s city hall and other locations, chanting slogans like “Imamoglu, you are not alone!” and “Erdogan, dictator!” Riot police have responded with tear gas, rubber bullets, pepper spray, and water cannons, leading to clashes in multiple cities. Over 1,133 people have been detained nationwide, including 217 in Istanbul alone during earlier May Day protests in 2024, reflecting a pattern of heavy-handed policing.
The dervish incident underscores the broader tension. While many protesters, including students and CHP supporters, have aimed for peaceful demonstrations, police actions have often escalated situations. Erdoğan has condemned the protests as a “movement of violence,” blaming the CHP, while opposition leaders like CHP head Özgür Özel have framed it as a fight for democracy. The viral image of the gas-masked dervish being sprayed encapsulates this clash—peaceful resistance met with state force—fueling global attention and domestic outrage as the unrest continues into its sixth day.
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2025-03-24 18:56:26
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2025-03-24 18:56:26Event JSON
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"content": "As of March 24, 2025, Turkey is experiencing significant protests sparked by the arrest and detention of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu on March 19, 2025. İmamoğlu, a prominent opposition figure from the Republican People’s Party (CHP) and a key rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, was detained on charges of corruption and alleged links to Kurdish militants—accusations widely viewed by his supporters as politically motivated to sideline him ahead of the 2028 presidential election. His arrest has ignited widespread unrest, marking some of the largest demonstrations in Turkey in over a decade, with hundreds of thousands taking to the streets across cities like Istanbul, Ankara, and İzmir.\n\nA striking moment from these protests occurred on March 23, 2025, in Istanbul’s Saraçhane district, where a man dressed as a whirling dervish—a Sufi mystic known for their spinning dance as a form of meditation—participated in a rally supporting İmamoğlu. Wearing a gas mask to protect against tear gas, he was captured spinning in front of a police barricade when riot police targeted him with pepper spray. This incident, photographed by Reuters photographer Ümit Bektaş, went viral, becoming a powerful symbol of the protests. The image shows the dervish mid-spin, his traditional headwear falling as pepper spray hits him, highlighting both the peaceful nature of many demonstrators and the forceful police response.\nThe protests began after İmamoğlu’s detention and escalated when he was jailed pending trial on March 23, prompting a fifth night of mass demonstrations. Despite a government ban on gatherings, tens of thousands gathered outside Istanbul’s city hall and other locations, chanting slogans like “Imamoglu, you are not alone!” and “Erdogan, dictator!” Riot police have responded with tear gas, rubber bullets, pepper spray, and water cannons, leading to clashes in multiple cities. Over 1,133 people have been detained nationwide, including 217 in Istanbul alone during earlier May Day protests in 2024, reflecting a pattern of heavy-handed policing.\n\nThe dervish incident underscores the broader tension. While many protesters, including students and CHP supporters, have aimed for peaceful demonstrations, police actions have often escalated situations. Erdoğan has condemned the protests as a “movement of violence,” blaming the CHP, while opposition leaders like CHP head Özgür Özel have framed it as a fight for democracy. The viral image of the gas-masked dervish being sprayed encapsulates this clash—peaceful resistance met with state force—fueling global attention and domestic outrage as the unrest continues into its sixth day.",
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