Turkish authorities continue to crack down on the main opposition party. With the leadership of the commercial metropolis under commission, judges could also remove the national leadership. At least 14 people have been arrested in recent days for inciting street protests. Internet blocks and restrictions, bans on demonstrations, leafleting and sit-ins.

Istanbul (AsiaNews) - The incursion of Russian drones into Poland, part of the Atlantic Alliance, which brings the conflict between Moscow and Kiev ever closer to Europe, and Israel's raid in Doha against Hamas leaders, are overshadowing a democratic emergency in another NATO country: in recent days, amid international silence, the judiciary - with the government's approval - has effectively removed and placed under administration the leaders of the Republican People's Party (CHP), the country's main opposition movement, in Istanbul.

In addition, there have been several arrests among those who took to the streets to demonstrate, as well as internet blockages and bans on demonstrations in an attempt to “obscure” dissent and discontent among the population opposed to the authoritarian drift imposed by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

On 9 September, the authorities arrested three people for posts on social networks inciting the population to gather in front of the CHP headquarters in Istanbul, after the police had surrounded the building in compliance with the court ruling to replace the elected leaders.

The Attorney General's Office also launched an investigation into 24 accounts on charges of “incitement to commit a crime”, a provision of the Criminal Code used against calls for street protests. The police detained a total of 14 people, nine of whom were referred to court.

Magistrates ordered the pre-trial detention of writer Nur Betül Aras and political scientist Abdullah Esin (the third has not been officially announced); the others were released on probation and conditional release, which may include the obligation to report periodically to the authorities or restrictions on movement.

Ten other people are wanted. According to other sources, Aras is also facing charges of “insulting the president”, a charge that her lawyer has described as unfounded.

The judges have restricted access to platforms and social media including X (formerly Twitter), YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and WhatsApp, according to experts at Netblocks, a global network monitor.

The restrictions and blocks are believed to be linked to calls for demonstrations and protests by the CHP after police set up barricades around its headquarters in Istanbul to facilitate the entry of the “new leadership”.

No comment, however, from the Turkish Union of Providers, primarily responsible for implementing the heavy restrictions imposed by the authorities. At the same time, the governor's office has banned public gatherings from 7 to 10 September in several districts, including Besiktas, Beyoglu, Eyupsultan, Kagithane, Sariyer and Sisli, for “public order reasons”. The ban covers press statements, meetings, demonstrations, setting up tents, sit-ins, signature campaigns, commemorations, leafleting, and putting up banners or posters.

The party and its youth wing had invited supporters to gather outside the building. According to prosecutors, the social media posts under investigation encouraged people to attend the rallies despite the bans.

The CHP, Turkey's oldest political party, administers the municipalities of major cities including Istanbul, a metropolis of over 16 million inhabitants and the country's economic centre. The protest was triggered by the civil court's decision to cancel the party's 2023 provincial congress and dismiss the elected local leadership for alleged irregularities.

The court appointed a five-member provisional board of directors; in response, the party expelled long-time politician Gürsel Tekin after he accepted the appointment.

The arrests are part of a broader campaign that has intensified since the opposition's landslide victories in the March 2024 local elections. Since October last year, prosecutors and police have been conducting investigations into corruption and terrorism, leading to hundreds of arrests, including that of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, the opposition's most prominent figure, in March.

At least 15 CHP mayors have been jailed pending trial, with economic repercussions including market turmoil and concern among foreign investors. Meanwhile, the party has changed the address of its provincial headquarters, designating the former headquarters in Sarıyer as the office of President Özgür Özel.

Finally, the Ankara Public Prosecutor's Office has simultaneously initiated another civil proceeding challenging the validity of the CHP national congress of November 2023, which elected Özel himself to lead the party founded by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.

The ruling is expected on 15 September: if the court annuls the congress, the judges could invalidate the vote and replace the national leaders with figures more “accommodating” towards the government and Erdogan himself.

Hence the party's request to convene an extraordinary congress on 21 September to allow delegates to cast a new vote regardless of the court's timing; however, the request must first be approved by a local electoral commission.