Recent events over the past week have dramatically shaken the political landscape in Turkey. The mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem İmamoğlu, a prominent political rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, was stripped of his university degree for alleged irregularities. The next morning he was detained at his home, surrounded by hundreds of police officers. These events transformed long-standing social pressure into a new wave of social activism in Turkey. On Sunday 23 March 2025, İmamoğlu was jailed along with 47 others (including senior aides and two district mayors). In addition, the Major of İstanbul's Şişli district was removed from office and replaced by a government-appointed trustee, while this has not yet happened in the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality. What has happened in Turkey since 18 March is seen by many as a new series of politically motivated moves to silence one of Erdoğan's main challengers. The heavy-handed approach of the ruling Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi, AKP) and the state authorities has only fuelled public outrage and solidarity among various opposition groups.
The protests are driven by a multitude of issues beyond İmamoğlu's detention. Numerous political prisoners, including elected mayors from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi, CHP) and the pro-Kurdish People’s Equality and Democracy Party (Halkların Eşitlik ve Demokrasi Partisi, DEM), are behind bars. Prominent figures such as former co-chairs of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (Halkların Demokratik Partisi, HDP), Selahattin Demirtaş and Figen Yüksekdağ, have been imprisoned since 2016. Additionally, Osman Kavala, Çiğdem Mater, Can Atalay, and Tayfun Kahraman are also in prison on alleged coup charges related to the Gezi Park protests, a grassroots movement that millions of people joined in 2013. The crackdown on the legal sphere continues with the dismissal of the elected president of the Istanbul Bar Association, İbrahim Kaboğlu, and his board by court order on 21 March 2025, the day after İmamoğlu's detention. Turkey's prestigious Boğaziçi University has been under siege since 2021, when Erdoğan appointed a loyalist as rector, bypassing the university's tradition of electing its own leaders. This move has since sparked resistance from scholars and students, who have faced police violence and arrests, among other rights violations. The ongoing situation at Boğaziçi is symptomatic of a wider assault on academic freedom and autonomy in Turkey. Rising femicide and Turkey's withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention in 2021, a treaty aimed at preventing violence against women and LGBTI+, have sparked outrage. The government's constant anti-LGBTI+ narratives further marginalise vulnerable communities. Civil society in Turkey, which has historically been a critical force in promoting democracy, justice, and equality, now operates under increasingly restrictive conditions.
As the government tightens its control over the media, Turkey has seen a high number of journalists imprisoned on terrorism-related charges. Social media platforms are often subject to bandwidth restrictions, especially during politically sensitive times, and social media users are often imprisoned. Economic issues are also fuelling the protests. Turkey's inflation rate has soared to over 50%, unemployment is rampant and poverty is widespread. For example, the head of the Istanbul Planning Agency, Buğra Gökçe, was arrested because of the IPA's regular reports highlighting economic inequalities and exposing the reality of deep poverty. There is a widespread feeling that under the AKP's rule, a small elite is getting richer while the general population is getting poorer. Many young people see no future in Turkey and are desperate to leave the country. In the 2023 earthquake, thousands of people lost their lives due to state negligence in terms of preparedness, delayed response, and inadequate humanitarian aid. Nearly 30,000 workers are reported to have died in work-related accidents since the AKP came to power largely due to inadequate safety regulations and the prioritization of neoliberal economic policies over workers’ safety. Despite widespread objections, a law allowing the massacre of stray animals was passed, causing widespread outrage and emotional distress. Environmental destruction continues across Turkey, intertwined with neoliberal authoritarianism, manifesting in large-scale construction projects and resource extraction at the expense of natural environments such as forests, rivers, and lakes. There are many other examples of the issues underlying the current wave of protests in Turkey.
Meanwhile, the recently launched 2025 process between the government and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) to end decades of conflict remains fragile. Despite the historic announcement by imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan on 27 February calling on the PKK to lay down its arms and disband, Turkey has taken no steps towards a democratic solution to the Kurdish question. Instead, the government continues its repression, arrests, criminalisation and threatening rhetoric against the Kurdish actors.
However, peace seems to be an important demand of the opposition. However, peace seems to be an important demand of the opposition. Unlike the previous experience of the 2013-2015 peace process, the demand for peace comes from almost all groups in Turkey (with the exception of some ultra-nationalist parties). As a result, the CHP and DEM parties are actively and strategically supporting each other in their efforts to end Erdoğan’s autocratic rule. This is a significant change for the CHP, which seems to have realised that state repression and the 'terrorist' label are not limited to the Kurdish people and parties alone. Another difference this time is that the main opposition party, the CHP, seems to be listening to the voices of the streets and the youth. Instead of trying to suppress the social opposition, the CHP is calling on the public to take to the streets and resist. The CHP is not alone. Different opposition channels, DEM, left and socialist parties, nationalists and Kemalists are using a pluralistic language to unite against Erdoğan's longstanding autocracy. While this unity is strategic and fragile, it highlights the widespread desire for change. An estimated 15 million citizens went to the polls on Sunday in a primary election to support İmamoğlu. Thousands have gathered in Istanbul and other parts of Turkey, and the opposition's ability to continue mobilising and maintain this momentum will be crucial in challenging Erdoğan's grip on power.
Overall, it is fair to say that the current wave of protests in Turkey is not just a reaction to recent events, but the culmination of years of growing discontent and suffering as a result of government policies. The diverse and widespread nature of the protests indicates a significant shift not only in the political landscape, but also in the convergence of people's demands. Despite ideological differences, there is a unified struggle for key issues such as human rights, democracy, freedom of expression, protection of animals and the environment, and many others. The resilience and determination of the people of Turkey in their fight for democracy and justice is inspiring, and their struggle serves as a reminder of the importance of standing up to autocracy and oppression, no matter how bleak it may seem. This is particularly inspiring in the current global context, where autocratisation and radical right-wing populism are on the rise in countries like the United States and across Europe (Germany, the Netherlands, etc.) It is plausible to imagine that Erdoğan may have felt emboldened by the geopolitical climate, but his plans seem to have backfired. After more than two decades of Erdoğan's regime and years of crackdown on democracy in Turkey, the people of Turkey, from university students to the elderly, continue to raise their voices to demand democracy, freedom and justice. For almost a week, people have been taking to the streets despite facing brutal police response. More than 1,000 people, including students and journalists, have been detained and the number is increasing every day. Among detained individuals –many being journalists and left-wing activists– have been jailed ahead of trial. In a press release published on 25 March 2025, the UN Human Rights Office Spokesperson Liz Throssell called for the immediate release of those detained for exercising their rights and urged fair trials and investigations into unlawful force against protesters. Under the conditions of indisriminate attacks on peaceful protests, it is uncertain how long the street movement will continue. However, calls for an economic boycott of pro-government media and businesses may influence the AKP government's assessment of the situation, especially given its already poor economic performance.
