Istanbul, Turkiye – The scent of tear gas lingered over Sarachane Square in Istanbul as thousands gathered over the weekend to protest against the arrest of the city’s mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu, outside the municipal headquarters.

The popular politician, whom Turkiye’s main opposition party has chosen as its candidate for the next presidential election, was arrested on March 19. Since then, protests have erupted daily, with demonstrators now calling for the government’s resignation.

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To Imamoglu’s supporters, the decision to detain and remove him from office is Turkiye’s longtime leader, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, tightening his grip on power.

For the government and its supporters, it is simply the judiciary doing its job.

Cinar Ileri, 28, has been attending the protests as a “neutral observer”.

“Look, I’m not supporting Imamoglu in any way. I didn’t vote for him. But I think what happened is unjust for any politician because the legal decision about him is not really just a legal case, it’s a political case,” said Ileri.

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Allegations of corruption have plagued municipalities across Turkiye’s political spectrum and were the subject of a report submitted to the Turkish parliament, which argues that insufficient checks and balances have been enforced to combat it.

Yet some see that the government focuses on opposition politicians to a point that raises doubts about its commitment to justice, with the accusation that authorities aim to reshape the political landscape.

Those close to the government have rejected these allegations. Hilal Kaplan, a journalist close to the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AK Party, who writes in the Sabah newspaper, laid the blame squarely at the opposition Republican People’s Party’s (CHP) door.

“The CHP member who reported the case to the prosecutor’s office, the one who filed a criminal complaint, the one who confessed, the one who presented the evidence, the one who witnessed and spoke – even the secret witness who covered up his own wrongdoing – is a CHP member,” she said in an op-ed arguing that it was members of Imamoglu’s party who had reported him to the authorities.

The claim that the government targeted Imamoglu because it sees him as a political threat was “nothing more than a blatant lie”, said Kaplan.

Slowdown in protests

Imamoglu, who has won two successive mayoral elections in Istanbul, is widely regarded as Erdogan’s chief political challenger.

Erdogan has been in power since 2003 and won the country’s most recent presidential election in 2023.

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In a parallel with Imamoglu, Erdogan was also a popular mayor of Istanbul in the 1990s, before being imprisoned in 1999.

The day before his arrest, Imamoglu’s university degree was cancelled by Istanbul University, which said it was falsely obtained – having a valid degree is a prerequisite to running for president.

“I will continue attending the demonstrations to see what’s happening – to see what people feel, what they think. And also, what this could lead to,” said Ileri.

“After four days of demonstrations, I feel like there is a slowdown in the dynamism within the protests,” he added.

“Sunday night, I was there. In my opinion, nothing special happened. The day he was officially arrested, there wasn’t much enthusiasm. And when people compare this to the Gezi Park protests, I don’t think they even match or come close in impact and power,” said Ileri, referring to the 2013 antigovernment protest movement.

‘We want change, we should protest’

The protests come during the holy month of Ramadan, and many of the mosques in the Fatih district, the epicentre of the protests, will be filled with worshippers until late in the evening for night prayers.

So far, there is little indication that many residents are joining the nightly protests.

In Anit Park, just a stone’s throw from the Istanbul Municipality headquarters, groups of elderly men sit on benches, discussing politics as they wait for the fasting day to end.

Most seem unfazed by the riot police stationed a stone’s throw away or the water cannon around the area.

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Asked if they would join the protests, they simply said they would not.

But for Ali, a 22-year-old student, joining the protests has become an almost nightly ritual.

“I don’t think Imamoglu is the main issue here,” says Ali. “Yes, his current situation is a big problem, but we all say we don’t care about names – Imamoglu, CHP, or any other political figures. We’re just sick of it. Sick of the AK Party’s illegal decisions,” he said, referring to Erdogan’s party, which has been in power now for 24 years.

“We care about our lives, our freedom, which is the most important, and our future. Yeah, I like Imamoglu, but I don’t love him. He’s the best option among them, and he’s always trying to improve things. I believe that if the government let him, he would achieve even more,” he added.

Since the protests began, Turkish authorities have detained more than 1,100 people and requested that social media platform X block some accounts. While the platform has objected to the “over 700” requests, it has also suspended several opposition-linked accounts, most of which were reportedly associated with university activists organising protests.

Erdogan has labelled the protests a “movement of violence” and said the CHP would be held responsible for police injuries and property damage, urging them to stop “provoking” the public.

Ali is unfazed. “I believe if we want change, we should protest. If we just sit and wait, nothing will change. That’s why I’m so happy we can protest, and I’m so happy that we are all together now – not just CHP supporters,” he said.

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“Protests mean everything to me because I’ve always believed that we should all rise up for our rights. As a student and a member of Gen Z, I know they assume we don’t care about anything, but they’re shocked now because we do care about our rights, and we won’t give up fighting for them,” he added.

‘Where is the justice?’

Residents in largely opposition-supporting neighbourhoods in Istanbul have banged pots and pans from their windows nightly since the day after Imamoglu’s arrest.

Furkan, a gym trainer in the opposition stronghold district of Besiktas, exclaims, “Where is the justice? Where is the democracy?” as he bangs his pot from a window.

Despite his nightly window protest and the dozens of others on the street, Furkan is sceptical that this is a tipping point for a wider antigovernment movement. “I can’t see the fire yet, I can’t feel the energy on the streets. Yes, people are upset by what’s happened, but it’s not enough.”

It is easy to see why that might be the case. On the other side of the Bosphorus in the conservative Uskudar neighbourhood, life largely continues as normal. There are no protests here, and no nightly banging of pots and pans.

Abudallah, 28, is one of a group of friends in Uskudar who are not protesting. “It doesn’t seem logical to me to go out and defend someone whose corruption has been exposed,” says Abudallah, referring to the numerous corruption cases pending against Imamoglu.

In 2019, Abudallah says, he had some sympathy for the now-ousted mayor when Imamoglu won his first mayoral election after a controversial rerun.

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“But today’s situation is entirely different,” he said. “There is no sense of victimhood because AK Party supporters believe Imamoglu is involved in both corruption and funnelling money to terrorists.”

“I believe the protests will continue to decline. In the coming days, with the end of the Ramadan holidays approaching, people will return to their hometowns. This will not turn into a mass movement. The crowd will easily forget those they once praised. Imamoglu will fade from public attention,” he added.

A short ride away from Uskudar, in the hip neighbourhood of Kadikoy, a protest over the weekend ended with people returning to the coffee shops, bars, and restaurants.

Mesut, 32, who has been attending these protests, said they are generally more “unorganised” and spontaneous.

“What I see is mostly young people between 20 and 25 years old, university students. They’re not really part of any organisation. Maybe some of them are members of leftist groups, but most have almost no affiliation,” he noted.

“That’s why there is no clear organisation or vision,” Mesut said. “People are just angry. Young people are angry, and rightly so. But I don’t see any organised or planned roadmap for this activism.”