SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
The arrest of the mayor of Istanbul, a prominent rival of the president of Turkey, has set off prodemocracy protests across that country despite a temporary ban on gatherings.
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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Non-English language spoken).
DETROW: At least 340 people were detained overnight. As reporter Durrie Bouscaren reports, Turkey's main opposition party says it still plans to hold a vote nominating the imprisoned mayor as its presidential candidate.
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DURRIE BOUSCAREN, BYLINE: On Friday night, thousands of people streamed into the park across the street from the offices of imprisoned Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu. Samet is a 24-year-old grad student.
SAMET: (Through interpreter) The right of people to choose and be elected and the rule of law has been dealt a blow. And it wasn't the first, and it won't be the last.
BOUSCAREN: Samet and others in this report asked that their full names not be used because Turkish law prohibits certain criticisms of the government, and arrests against protesters are still ongoing. Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been in power for 22 years, presiding over a flailing economy and consolidating most branches of government under his oversight. Imamoglu emerged in 2019 as a charismatic candidate who seemed to have the popularity to oust Erdogan in a presidential election. To formally nominate him as a presidential candidate, his party made the unusual step of holding a primary, scheduled for Sunday.
SEVGI: (Non-English language spoken).
BOUSCAREN: Sevgi, a retired nurse, says Imamoglu's arrest felt like a coup.
SEVGI: (Non-English language spoken).
BOUSCAREN: "Imamoglu is Erdogan's strongest opponent," Sevgi says. "By removing him, by putting him in jail, he's removing the obstacles in his way." Sevgi still intends to vote for Imamoglu on Sunday. But as groups of students and young people stream in to join the protest, she nods with the concern of a supportive but worried parent.
SEVGI: (Non-English language spoken).
BOUSCAREN: "It's like an explosion point," she says. Turkish prosecutors accuse Imamoglu of leading an elaborate conspiracy of bribery, embezzlement and fraud, as well as ties to terrorism. His supporters, like this psychology professor who did not share her name out of fear of losing her job, say, the charges are ludicrous.
UNIDENTIFIED PROFESSOR: When they want to accuse somebody, they can turn normal politics into terrorism charges. It's very strategic. It's very - they just use law as a tool to go after who they want to go after.
BOUSCAREN: But these charges could also bar Imamoglu from holding office. Just before his arrest, his university also revoked his college degree, another move widely seen as political.
UNIDENTIFIED PROFESSOR: I'm sure people will be on the streets till they get the politicians to understand that you can't just suppress forever.
BOUSCAREN: Turkey's presidential communications office has denied that Imamoglu's arrest is political, insisting that the country is governed by the rule of law, but it has struggled to contain the protests erupting across the country.
YUSUF CAN: It's a make-or-break point for Turkish democracy.
BOUSCAREN: Yusuf Can, a Turkish politics analyst at the Washington-based Wilson Center, says, this is part of Erdogan's strategy to stay in power indefinitely. The head of Imamoglu's Party has been spending the night at Istanbul's city offices, concerned that Erdogan will appoint a loyalist trustee to oversee the city.
CAN: People want a future. People want to be able to determine who gets to rule them.
BOUSCAREN: The arrest of Imamoglu has created a groundswell of support for his opposition party, Can says, even among people who consider themselves apolitical. On Sunday, opposition party members will still go to the ballot box to vote for Imamoglu in the party's first presidential primary in recent memory.
CAN: It's been done. It's - people do it, but it's not that often. I'm looking forward to the turnout, honestly. I'm quite curious.
BOUSCAREN: Turkey's next presidential election is scheduled for 2028, but it's widely believed that Erdogan will call for early elections, a move that would allow him to bypass term limits. For NPR 瓜神app, I'm Durrie Bouscaren, Istanbul. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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