Journalists Among 1,100 Held As Türkiye Faces Largest Protests In A Decade, X Asked To Remove Over 700 Accounts

<p>Turkish authorities have arrested more than 1,100 people, including journalists, amid a sweeping crackdown following mass protests triggered by the detention of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu. The arrests coincide with increased efforts by the government to restrict media coverage of the demonstrations, including requests to social media platform X to block hundreds of accounts.</p>
<p>According to The Guardian, the protests, which have been described as the largest anti-government demonstrations in T&uuml;rkiye in more than a decade, erupted after İmamoğlu was arrested on corruption charges and sent to a high-security prison on the outskirts of Istanbul. His arrest came on the same day he was announced as the opposition&rsquo;s candidate for president.</p>
<p>Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya confirmed that 1,133 individuals had been detained over five days, starting with the dawn raid that led to İmamoğlu&rsquo;s arrest along with several municipal officials. Yerlikaya claimed that some groups were &ldquo;abusing the right to assembly and demonstration, attempting to disrupt public order, inciting street events, and attacking our police.&rdquo; He further stated, &ldquo;Such actions are aimed at disrupting the peace and security of our people.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Journalists have also been among those targeted in the crackdown. One reporter was detained while covering demonstrations outside Istanbul city hall, while nine others were taken into custody in early-morning raids. Evin Barış Altıntaş, head of the Media and Law Studies Association, told The Guardian that most of the detained journalists were photographers.</p>
<p>&ldquo;The main aim is to decrease the number of people taking photos at protests,&rdquo; Altıntaş said, noting that T&uuml;rkiye&rsquo;s media regulator RT&Uuml;K had also threatened to suspend broadcasters&rsquo; licences for airing live footage of the demonstrations. RT&Uuml;K head Ebubekir Şahin, however, denied making any such threats, stating, &ldquo;The state will do what is necessary.&rdquo;</p>
<p>The Turkish government&rsquo;s response to the protests has been forceful, with police deploying teargas, pepper spray, and armoured water cannon trucks against demonstrators in Istanbul and other major cities. In an effort to curb participation, Istanbul&rsquo;s governor imposed restrictions on entering the city over the weekend.</p>
<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet” data-media-max-width=”560″>
<p dir=”ltr” lang=”en”>Anti-Erdogan protester wounded after being struck by a riot police water cannon in Antalya <br /><br />🇹🇷 <a href=”https://t.co/Nz49EY9E8h”>pic.twitter.com/Nz49EY9E8h</a></p>
&mdash; Visegr&aacute;d 24 (@visegrad24) <a href=”https://twitter.com/visegrad24/status/1903996179232280950?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>March 24, 2025</a></blockquote>
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<p>The protests and crackdown have also had economic consequences, with financial analysts estimating that the Turkish central bank spent up to $25 billion (&pound;19.3 billion) propping up the lira over three days last week, as per The Guardian’s report. Economist Haluk B&uuml;r&uuml;mcek&ccedil;i warned that while the bank had enough reserves to sustain such interventions, &ldquo;these would not be adequate for similar ongoing demand.&rdquo;</p>
<h3><strong>T&uuml;rkiye Govt Orders X To Remove Over 700 Accounts</strong></h3>
<p>Social media platform X has also faced pressure from Turkish authorities, with the government issuing multiple court orders to block more than 700 accounts, including those of journalists, political figures, students, and news organisations. The platform&rsquo;s global government affairs team stated, &ldquo;We believe this decision from the Turkish government is not only unlawful, it hinders millions of Turkish users from news and political discourse in their country. We look forward to defending these principles through the legal system.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Altıntaş criticised X&rsquo;s handling of the situation, pointing out that despite claims by Elon Musk about upholding free speech, at least 110 accounts had already been blocked in T&uuml;rkiye, including those of journalists covering the protests, feminist organisations, and student groups. &ldquo;There is a clear attempt to censor images and videos of the protests, and this is obviously a part of that,&rdquo; she said, as quoted by the report.</p>
<p>As protests continue to escalate, the Turkish government&rsquo;s measures to suppress dissent and control media coverage remain under intense scrutiny.</p>