On 19 March, Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, a prominent opposition leader, was detained on charges of corruption and aiding the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). He was formally charged on 23 March. This occurred as party officials prepared to confirm him as the Republican People’s Party’s (CHP) presidential candidate for 2028. Istanbul University annulled his degree on 18 March, potentially barring his candidacy. Authorities also detained numerous CHP officials, activists and journalists. The IBB Council elected Nuri Aslan as interim mayor on 26 March.

The crackdown sparked Türkiye’s largest protests in over a decade, with hundreds of thousands of people rallied from 19–29 March in Istanbul, Izmir, Ankara, Eskisehir, Rize, Trabzon, Sakarya, Corum, Konya and Antalya. Clashes occurred at Beyazıt Square and Saraçhane (Istanbul) and METU (Ankara). Authorities banned gatherings, barricaded Taksim Square (Istanbul) and Güvenpark (Ankara) and restricted social media. Over 100 police officers and multiple protesters were injured, with nearly 2,000 detained. International bodies and rights organisations, including the Council of Europe and Human Rights Watch, condemned the detentions as political. Further arrests included his lawyer Mehmet Pehlivan (28 March) and ten photojournalists (27 March).

Protests gradually tapered after 29 March, though smaller demonstrations continued, especially in Istanbul. CHP leader Özgür Özel implemented weekly rallies to maintain pressure. President Erdoğan’s pursuit of constitutional changes, seen as consolidating executive power, risks reigniting tensions as the space for dissent continues to narrow.