Turkey has arrested Istanbul's mayor and key opposition presidential candidate Ekrem Imamoglu. The arrest has triggered massive protests throughout the country, with many believing that the arrest is unjustified and part of a bid to prevent Imamoglu's run for president.
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00:00Huge crowds gather in Istanbul, waving Turkish flags, while riot police stand guard.
00:09The mayor of Istanbul and potential presidential candidate, Ekrem İmamoğlu, has been arrested,
00:14triggering Turkey's largest protest in more than a decade.
00:17These are completely violations of our country's democracy and law.
00:23No power has the right to do this to Turkish youth and Turkish people.
00:29İmamoğlu was arrested on charges of corruption and leading a criminal organization.
00:34He was among over 100 people, including politicians and journalists, detained last Wednesday in
00:39an ongoing investigation, triggering five nights of protests.
00:43İmamoğlu is seen as one of the strongest political opponents to current President Recep
00:47Tayyip Erdoğan, who has been in power for 22 years.
00:51As long as there is a strong opponent in front of him, everyone is always trying to destroy
00:58him.
00:59That's how it is.
01:00There is dictatorship in Turkey right now, nothing else.
01:03İmamoğlu has denied the criminal charges against him, saying he will not bow down.
01:08Under the Turkish constitution, a president can only serve two consecutive five-year terms,
01:14meaning that Erdoğan cannot run again for the 2028 presidential election unless he changes
01:18the constitution.
01:20İmamoğlu's party, the Republican People's Party, or CHP, has argued that the arrest
01:25is a political move to prevent İmamoğlu from running.
01:28When he was detained for four days, Turkey sent him to court for him, and when Turkey
01:40chose him, they sent him to the Silivri prison and tried to make a coup against him.
01:52The Justice Ministry rejected claims linking Erdoğan to the arrests, emphasizing judicial
01:57independence.
01:58While the election council will determine İmamoğlu's eligibility to run, President
02:03Erdoğan has condemned the protests.
02:05We will not allow the CHP and its allies to disrupt public order and disturb the peace
02:12of our people.
02:13We will not allow new walls of hypocrisy to be built between 85 million and the social
02:19engineering of Turkey.
02:20Since İmamoğlu was detained for four days, he has denied the criminal charges against
02:25him, saying he will not bow down.
02:28Since İmamoğlu's detention, the Turkish currency, stocks and bonds have plunged, forcing
02:40the central bank to intervene to stabilize the lira.
02:43Authorities have arrested more than 700 people since the protests began, trying to suppress
02:47the growing unrest.
02:49As uncertainty looms over Turkey's next presidential election in 2028, fears over the state of
02:55his democracy continue to grow.
02:57Hank Shi and Chelsea Wu for Taiwan Plus.