The detention last Wednesday of Imamoglu, President Tayyip Erdogan’s main political rival, has triggered the biggest street protests in Turkey in more than a decade. On Sunday, a court jailed him, pending trial, on corruption charges that he denies.
Despite bans on street gatherings in many cities, the mostly peaceful anti-government demonstrations continued for a fifth consecutive night on Sunday, with hundreds of thousands taking part.
Yerlikaya said 123 police officers had been injured during the protests so far, adding that the government would not allow “the terrorising of the streets”.
Those detained include nine journalists who covered overnight protests in several cities, the Journalists’ Union of Turkey said on Monday.
It was not immediately clear why the journalists were detained.
Imamoglu’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) has been calling for protests against the court decision to arrest the mayor, which they label as politicised and undemocratic.
Imamoglu has denied the charges he faces as “unimaginable accusations and slanders” and has also called for nationwide protests.
Erdogan said last week that the government would not accept “the disruption of public order”. His government denies that the investigations are politically motivated and says the courts are independent.
Omer Celik, spokesperson for Erdogan’s ruling AK Party, noted on Monday the CHP’s call for protests was aimed at covering up the opposition’s shortcomings.
“Democratic protest is a (fundamental) right, but the language used by the CHP is not the language of democratic protest,” Celik added.
News of Imamoglu’s arrest covered the front pages of Turkish newspapers on Monday, with opposition media suggesting the mayor was arrested for being the most credible challenger to Erdogan.
The mayor’s supporters say the jailing of Imamoglu demonstrated a lack of justice in Turkey.
In an address to the demonstration in Istanbul’s Sarachane district in front of the municipality building, CHP leader Ozgur Ozel stressed on Sunday that they would continue the protests until Imamoglu was released.
