Tens of thousands of people protested in the Turkish capital Ankara on Sunday ahead of a court ruling that could see the removal of the head of the main opposition. Ozgur Ozel, the leader of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), has denounced Monday’s hearing as part of a judicial coup by Turkey’s government against the country’s opposition.
After a year-long legal crackdown against hundreds of CHP members, live footage on Sunday showed people chanting for the resignation of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan while waving Turkish flags and party banners. Ozel accused the government of trying to cling to power by undermining democratic norms and suppressing dissent.
Monday’s hearing seeks to overturn the results of a CHP congress in November 2023 over alleged vote-rigging. The congress elected Ozel as leader. Critics say the case is a politically-motivated attempt to undermine Turkey’s oldest political party, which won a huge victory over President Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) in 2024 local elections and has been rising in polls.
Hundreds of members of the CHP have been jailed over accusations of corruption and terrorism, including Erdogan’s main political rival, Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu. Imamoglu’s arrest in March sparked Turkey’s biggest unrest in a decade, where hundreds of thousands took to the streets to protest.
Source: https://www.dw.com/en/turkey-thousands-protest-against-crackdown-on-opposition/a-73992893?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf
