Turkish opposition leader Ozel reports on one million protesters in Istanbul

About a million people gathered for a rally in support of the detained Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu on Saturday, March 22. This was announced by the leader of the opposition Republican People's Party in Turkey, Ozgur Ozel.

"550 thousand people came here yesterday, about a million gathered today <...> We will closely monitor the events, tonight we will support Imamoglu here, if necessary, we will all go to the Caglayan Palace of Justice <...> History will be written in Istanbul today," Ozel said.

According to Ozel, the court's decision regarding Imamoglu could be made on Sunday morning.

Halk TV channel on its Facebook page (ex. Twitter) showed footage of police dispersing protesters using pepper gas and water cannons. Some of the protesters started throwing stones, sticks and various objects at the police.

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The day before, it was reported that police in Istanbul used tear gas against protesters. On March 20, the Turkish Interior Minister announced that six policemen had been injured during a protest in Istanbul. Rallies on this day were also held in Ankara.

Law enforcement agencies issued a warrant for the detention of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu on March 19. According to media reports, an anti-corruption operation has been launched against the Istanbul administration. It concerns the holding of city tenders, as well as clarifying the details of the interaction of opposition officials with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party.

At the same time, the head of the Republican People's Party (CHP), Ozgur Ozel, called on Turkish citizens to protest in support of the mayor of Istanbul. Due to the situation in the country, the authorities have banned mass political actions in the city.