19 March CHP leader
Özgür Özel characterized the detention as "a
coup against our next president" and urged opposition groups to unify. Dilek İmamoğlu, Ekrem İmamoğlu's wife, urged supporters to "raise their voices", stating that: "The day the government decides its opponents is the day democracy dies." Police barricaded and blocked roads that led to the Vatan Security Department, where İmamoğlu was detained. Banners with Ekrem İmamoğlu's pictures and a quote by
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk: "
Sovereignty unconditionally belongs to the nation," were unfurled in front of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality building.
Middle East Technical University (METU) students marched on campus demanding the resignation of the government. Afterwards many attempted to move to
Kızılay, but were stopped by barricades and police on Eskişehir Road, who pepper sprayed them.
Mayor of Ankara Mansur Yavaş stated that he would travel to Istanbul to provide support for İmamoğlu and the tens of thousands of protesters. Significant demonstrations were reported in
Adana,
Trabzon, and
İzmir. In
Dublin, Ireland, the group
Democratic Türkiye Community in Ireland began demonstrations against İmamoğlu's arrest.
20 March Mass demonstrations broke out in several major Turkish cities. Significant protests were reported in
Mamak (Ankara), Ankara,
Bolu,
Şişli (Istanbul), İzmir,
Samsun,
Manavgat (Antalya),
Ayvalık (Balıkesir),
Eskişehir,
Mersin,
Muğla,
Bursa,
Didim (Aydın),
Adana,
Denizli,
Trabzon,
Antalya,
Çorum,
Konya,
Sakarya,
Amasya,
Giresun,
Rize,
Kırıkkale, and
Karabük. Students and faculty from 13 Turkish universities conducted demonstrations or protest marches, including those of
Istanbul University. Police intervened against the protests of Mersin, Galatasaray, Dokuz Eylül, Ankara, and Kocaeli Universities, with pepper spray, barricades, and force. The nose of a protester was broken after it was kicked by a police officer, while others were detained. The Tandoğan campus of
Ankara University was surrounded with police barricades, with several students being prohibited from entering while the rest required ID access to enter. Resistance from students inside the campus led to several prohibited students being able to enter, and protesters marching on campus against the government. Following the march, the students were prohibited from leaving the campus, with attempts to take down the barricades being met with pepper spray and beatings from police. METU students started a protest march from Dormitory 5, shouting anti-government slogans. Students from
Bilkent University and
Hacettepe University joined the march by taking down police barricades at the METU A1 Gate. Despite the police using
plastic bullets, pepper spray, and
tear gas, the march continued. A mass demonstration took place outside the
Embassy of Turkey in London, with members of the Workers' Party of Turkey and the Turkish Kurdish Community Solidarity Center unravelling banners protesting the restrictive acts of the Turkish government. In Germany, mass demonstrations conducted by the
Turkish diaspora were reported in Berlin and
Stuttgart, calling upon European states to enact greater action against the Turkish government crackdowns.
Interior Minister of Turkey Ali Yerlikaya reported that over 18.6 million social media posts concerning the arrests of opposition figures appeared online by 6 a.m. on 20 March.
21 March Protests intensified in many cities including Istanbul,
İzmir and
Ankara, while spreading to
Konya,
Niğde,
Trabzon, and
Adana. in
Istanbul Istanbul became the epicenter of large-scale
protests, with gatherings erupting in districts such as
Saraçhane,
Beşiktaş,
Kadıköy, and
Şişli. However,
Taksim Square, a historically significant site, was blockaded by heavy police presence, preventing demonstrations there. Despite this, protesters in other areas carried banners and chanted slogans like "" ("Don't stay quiet, the longer you do, it will be your turn!"), "" ("Government, resign!"), and "" ("Right, law, justice!"), while others participated by
banging pots and pans from their balconies, reminiscent of the
2013 Gezi Park protests Riot police, reinforced by armored vehicles and
TOMA water cannon trucks, took up defensive positions in the city. Despite the largely peaceful nature of the protests, tensions escalated when security forces attempted to disperse the crowds, citing concerns over illegal gatherings and
public disorder. The police response was forceful, deploying tear gas, rubber bullets, and water cannons against protesters who refused to leave. Violent clashes broke out in
Bozdoğan Kemeri, where thousands had gathered in defiance of government warnings. Many responded by throwing plastic bottles, chanting slogans, and waving opposition party flags, particularly those of the CHP. In
İzmir, videos circulated of police beating up protestors and detaining them while they shouted for help. Elsewhere in the country, demonstrations took place in
Ankara, where crowds and CHP representatives attempted to march to the
Grand National Assembly of Turkey to demand justice. Police barricaded major roads, preventing demonstrators from reaching the parliament building, which had been heavily fortified with additional riot units. In İzmir, thousands flooded
Lozan Square to begin a march to
Alsancak, disregarding the five-day demonstration ban set in place by the
Governor of İzmir, waving Turkish flags and chanting pro-democracy slogans. As the protests intensified, the
Turkish Interior Ministry announced that 343 individuals had been detained during overnight clashes. The ministry claimed security forces acted in accordance with public order laws, arguing some demonstrators engaged in "provocative and violent behavior". However, opposition leaders and human rights organizations accused the government of
excessive force, noting many arrested were peaceful protesters exercising their constitutional right to free assembly. Forty-one protesters were detained in Ankara's
Güvenpark and in an "anti-terror" operation, while 31 others had arrest warrants issued. Of 22 student protesters detained, seven female students were forcibly
strip-searched. The
Istanbul Governor's Office announced that entering and leaving Istanbul was restricted, saying that "Individuals, groups and vehicles from the districts of our province or neighboring provinces, who are likely to join illegal actions individually or collectively by using the route of our province, will not be allowed to enter or leave our province".
23 March Large crowds gathered in central areas such as Kadıköy, chanting slogans like "Justice for all" and "This is not about a mayor; it's about democracy." Protesters described the situation as an attack on electoral legitimacy and democratic governance.
Turkish police responded with
tear gas and
riot control tactics. Several protesters were reportedly injured during the crackdown, and some were detained. This resulted in some channels ,such as and
Halk TV cutting their live broadcasts of rallies and protests at the Metropolitan Municipality building. As a result, several millions tuned into livestreams of the protests broadcast from İmamoğlu's
social media accounts and the CHP. The broadcast resulted in a record number of simultaneous viewers of the livestream, at 4 million. After calls on social media to boycott brands associated with the AKP, as well as smaller businesses that refused to help protesters or sell to them,
Özgür Özel threatened a boycott on media companies if they did not cover the protests. At 12:20 p.m. İmamoğlu was formally arrested following a
court order. The Istanbul Criminal Court mandated his detention pending trial on charges of corruption and alleged connections to the
Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a group designated as terrorist by Turkey. The terrorism charges were dropped as the court focused on corruption. this move means that a trustee cannot be appointed to Istanbul. His legal team announced plans to appeal the court's decision, asserting that the charges are intended to suppress political dissent. At 10:49 p.m. local time, after most of the votes from the
primary election were counted, the CHP declared on X that their presidential candidate for the
upcoming elections is Ekrem İmamoğlu. A protest was held in
Valletta by Turkish residents in
Malta.
24 March Interior Minister
Ali Yerlikaya claimed that some of the arrested protesters were identified as having ties with
terrorist organizations, and others had criminal records. Yerlikaya announced that 123
police officers were injured during the protests, with
fireworks. He wrote, "Terrorizing our streets and threatening the peace and security of our nation will absolutely not be tolerated". X issued a statement saying that it had received court orders ordering it to block over 700 accounts posting anti-government content, including those belonging to politicians and journalists, but that it was objecting to the orders. The Turkish opposition called for a
boycott of companies owned by holdings close to the government and TV channels that censored images of the mobilizations.
25 March A judge ordered the pre-trial detention of seven journalists, including
Agence France-Presse photographer Yasin Akgül, accused by the authorities of taking part in an illegal rally. They were charged with "refusing to disperse despite warning during a demonstration". Agence France Presse called for the photographer's release. Protesters said they will continue protesting against the government despite arrests.
26 March CHP leader
Özgür Özel held a meeting with Ekrem İmamoğlu at
Marmara Prison. He described İmamoğlu and two other jailed politicians as "three lions inside, standing tall, with their heads held high ... proud of themselves, their families, their colleagues, not afraid". Afterwards Özel said he was planning to appoint an
acting mayor in İmamoğlu's place. Istanbul's municipal council later elected
Nuri Aslan, a CHP member who won 177 votes in the 314-member council. President Erdoğan continued speaking against the protests and labelled them as "street terror". He said: "Those who spread terror in the streets and want to set fire to this country have nowhere to go. The path they have taken is a dead end". He also accused the opposition of harming the economy. A court released Yasin Akgül and six other journalists who had been detained while covering the protests. The RTUK imposed a 10-day broadcasting ban on
Sözcü TV, accusing it of incitement in its coverage. Swedish journalist
Joakim Medin was detained on arrival in Turkey, where he was due to cover the protests. On 28 March, the editor-in-chief of his newspaper (), reported Medin had been taken into custody. He has been jailed pending trial on charges of "insulting the president" and "membership in a terrorist organization", according to Ankara's Chief Public Prosecutor's Office. His arrest is linked to a 2023 protest in
Stockholm, where a mannequin resembling Erdogan was hung outside city hall. Press freedom organizations condemned the arrest. Reporters Without Borders Sweden called it "indefensible," while Amnesty Sweden warned it was a threat to freedom of expression. The Swedish Newspaper Publishers' Association urged the
Swedish government to act "sharply and swiftly" for Medin's release, calling Turkey's media restrictions alarming.
28 March İmamoğlu's lawyer,
Mehmet Pehlivan, was detained.
Halk TV claimed his detainment was linked with allegations of "laundering assets originating from a crime". He was released from detention under judicial supervision. İmamoğlu tweeted: "As if the coup on democracy wasn't enough, they can't stand the victims of this coup defending themselves". Two more journalists covering the protests, Elif Bayburt, who works for the
Etkin News Agency, and Nisa Suda Demirel, from the
Evrensel news website, were detained, according to the
Journalists union of Turkey. The CHP's boycott website; 'boykotyap.com' was blocked by the Ankara 4th Criminal Judgeship of Peace.
29 March A mass rally was organized by CHP in
Maltepe, Istanbul. Ozgur Özel claimed 2.2 million people joined, newspapers put the figure in the hundreds of thousands. A letter from İmamoğlu was read out at the rally:I have no fear, you are behind me and by my side. I have no fear because the nation is united. The nation is united against the oppressor. They can put me in jail and try me as much as they want, the nation has shown that it will crush all traps and plots.On the same day, in an interview with France's
Le Monde, Özel said he planned to make Saturday rallies a weekly feature in cities across Turkey, with others to be held in Istanbul every Wednesday. A protester wearing a
Pikachu costume was chased by police in Antalya, leading to the
Pokémon mascot becoming a symbol of anti-Erdogan protests. Since then, Pikachu posters and costumes have appeared at protests. President Erdogan called the protests a "show" and warned CHP to stop "provoking" the Turks.
30 March Özgür Özel urged people to
boycott companies with ties to president Erdoğan.
1 April Leader of the
Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and Erdoğan ally
Devlet Bahçeli said that the protests could provoke clashes with government loyalists. He also accused the CHP of "using unrest to destabilize the government". The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office launched an investigation into those who made a "boycott call" on social media for incitement to hatred and hostility.
3 April Eleven people were detained for supporting the economic boycott, including actor
Cem Yiğit Üzümoğlu.
6 April Özgür Özel called for anticipated national elections to be held by November at the latest. Speaking at an extraordinary party congress in Ankara, Özel challenged Erdoğan to face the electorate, declaring the protests a powerful act of public dissent.
9 April The
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) approved the bill calling for the release of Ekrem İmamoğlu and other mayors with 90 votes in favor and eight against.
11 April On 11 April, Imamoglu appeared in court for the first time since his arrest, not for the corruption case, but in connection with three other legal proceedings: one for allegedly threatening remarks made in January against Istanbul's chief prosecutor, Akin Gürlek, and two others concerning suspected irregularities in public procurement and donations during the municipal election campaign. The hearing, normally held at the Caglayan Courthouse, took place instead within the Silivri prison complex, which is closed to the public. The CHP accused the government of weaponizing the judiciary to prevent him from running in the 2028 presidential election. Meanwhile, police conducted aggressive raids on the homes of Imamoglu's relatives, including that of his father, further heightening tensions. Shortly before the hearing, two investigative journalists, Murat Agirel and Timur Soykan, who had reported on alleged irregularities in the investigations targeting Imamoglu, were also arrested, while 107 students detained during the protests were released. After some teachers in the well-established high schools in Istanbul were suspended for participating in the protests or opposing the government, protests were held in some high schools.
18 April The trial of nearly 200 people arrested in the protests began. Most of the 189 defendants in the trial, which was held at the Caglayan courthouse, were students, while eight were journalists.
30 April Joakim Medin was convicted by a court in Ankara on charges of insulting President Erdoğan and sentenced to a suspended 11-month prison term.
1 May Since the protests coincided with May 1 Labor Day, all groups participating in the protest celebrated Labor Day. 407 people were detained during the May 1st celebrations.
15 May Esila Ayık, who had been
arrested and kept in prison for over a month even despite several doctor reports about her being unsuitable for prison conditions, was released, along with two other students.
28 May While the continued, 23 thousand municipal workers working in Izmir went on strike because they found the wages given by the municipality inadequate. All municipal operations were disrupted for days.
31 May A commemoration was held in Beyoğlu on the 12th anniversary of the
Gezi Park protests, Turkey's largest civil disobedience action. Representatives of political parties, unions, civil society organizations and citizens gathered on Mis Sokak upon the call of Taksim Solidarity.
22 June Ahead of the Pride March to be held in Istanbul, Taksim Metro was closed until further notice by the decision of the Istanbul Governor's Office. The Şişli District Governor's Office imposed a one-day ban on protests within the district borders. Despite the restrictions, more than 50 people were detained during the march held in Kadıköy.
29 June Özgur Özel, a day before the court trial in relation to the decision on whether to replace him by a state-appointed person (possibly Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu) due to an alleged fraud of his election as the head of CHP, delivers an opening speech at Germany's SPD Party's congress, in Berlin. In his speech, he made detailed mentions to the democratic backsliding in Turkey, and at the end of his speech, he received a full crowd support in applauds, together with "Free İmamoğlu" posters being held by SPD members. After his speech, Özgur Özel made an interview with ANKA news agency, outside in Berlin, and noted that he will tell the world, and the world society about how Erdoğan is causing injustice.
1 July A rally was held in Saraçhane for the 100th day of Ekrem İmamoğlu's arrest. Approximately 100 thousand people joined the rally. Some protestors clashed with riot police after the rally, police encircled and used pepper spray on the protestors, one person was stabbed. Similar protests were held in İzmir, Ankara and Gaziantep.
24 October The Ankara 42nd Civil Court of First Instance rejected the lawsuit filed seeking the annulment of the Republican People's Party's (CHP)
38th Ordinary and 21st Extraordinary Congresses. == 2026 ==