Turkey Arrests 120 Opposition Figures Ahead of Istanbul Rally, Sparking Crackdown Fears 

Turkish authorities arrested more than 120 people in the western city of İzmir on Tuesday, just hours before a major opposition rally in Istanbul, in what critics call a politically motivated operation aimed at weakening President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s challengers, Agence France-Presse reported. 

The pre-dawn raids in İzmir targeted officials linked to the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), including former mayor Tunç Soyer, as part of a corruption investigation involving alleged irregularities in government contracts and fraud.  

Prosecutors have issued a total of 157 warrants, claiming that the irregularities have caused massive public financial losses, Reuters noted.  

CHP lawmaker Murat Bakan condemned the detentions and compared them to a March sweep in Istanbul that led to the arrest of Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, Erdoğan’s key rival in the 2028 presidential race.  

Tuesday’s arrests came hours before the CHP was set to hold a major rally in Istanbul to mark 100 days since İmamoğlu’s detention. His arrest sparked weeks of mass protests and led to nearly 2,000 arrests nationwide.  

Observers said the İzmir crackdown marked the recent effort by Turkish authorities to undermine the opposition party. On Monday, a court in the capital Ankara began hearing a case against the CHP over accusations of vote-buying involving its 2023 leadership primary. 

The case could overturn the election of CHP leader Özgür Özel, who has become the face of the recent demonstrations.  

Meanwhile, Erdoğan on Tuesday condemned a cartoon published by the Turkish satirical magazine LeMan as a “vile provocation” and a “hate crime,” after the image allegedly depicted the Islamic and Jewish prophets, France 24 added. 

The cartoon – published a few days after the 12-day conflict between Israel and Iran – was interpreted by critics as showing the Prophet Muhammad and Prophet Moses shaking hands over a bombed city. Both prophets are revered in Islam and the image sparked a strong reaction from government officials and religious conservatives. Authorities seized copies of the issue and this week detained the four cartoonists credited with creating the drawing. 

LeMan representatives countered that the cartoon was misunderstood and insisted that the character named Muhammad referred not to the prophet but to a fictional Muslim man killed during Israeli airstrikes.  

Civil rights groups condemned the arrests as infringements on freedom of expression.