CHP rallies at Saraçhane one year after İmamoğlu’s arrest

ISTANBUL

Thousands of people gathered outside Istanbul’s city hall on March 18 to mark the first anniversary of the detention of Ekrem İmamoğlu, the ousted mayor and presidential candidate of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP).

The demonstration at the Saraçhane square was the 99th rally organized by the CHP since İmamoğlu’s detention last year. Images carried by news agencies showed large crowds filling the square.

A letter sent by İmamoğlu from prison was read aloud during the rally by Özgür Çelik, head of the party’s Istanbul branch.

In the message, İmamoğlu said that “a struggle for justice and democracy has been waged for a year,” adding, “You are defending the law, democracy, and the honor of the national will against a handful of people who have set their sights on all the rights and freedoms that the Republic provides to its citizens and who disregard the will of the nation.”

Weekly demonstrations led by CHP leader Özgür Özel began at Saraçhane on March 19, 2025, following İmamoğlu’s detention and have since been held every Wednesday in different districts of Istanbul. Additional rallies have taken place across Anatolian provinces on weekends.

Özel said the party’s 100th rally would be held in the northwestern province of Çanakkale.

İmamoğlu was detained on March 19, 2025, a day after his university diploma was revoked, on charges including graft and terrorism. He was formally arrested on March 23 over corruption. He has denied all accusations.

Addressing the crowd, Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavaş said the opposition aimed to win the next elections and govern the country.

“People of Istanbul, we are here today to express our solidarity. We are always behind Mr. Ekrem and our other mayors. We trust them,” he said.

“We want them to receive a fair trial, to be tried without being detained, and we promise that in the earliest possible election, we will see a free, independent Türkiye where everyone lives in peace.”

The CHP has been calling for early elections since İmamoğlu's arrest, although Türkiye’s next national vote is not scheduled until 2028.

Earlier this month in Ankara, the CHP unveiled policy pledges prepared by its presidential campaign office for İmamoğlu across 18 ministries.

The platform included a return to a parliamentary system and full compliance with rulings of Türkiye’s Constitutional Court and the European Court of Human Rights. It also outlined tax reform, strengthening the defense industry, rapid steps toward full membership in the European Union and a foreign policy that “does not change according to America.”