by Nil
One of the most popular songs this year on Turkish social media was “Birileri Var” by Şebnem Ferah. As she sings “there is still someone, who protects the breath of the innocent”, it was used on platforms such as TikTok in relation to the 2025 protests in Turkey. As the main figures of political opposition are being arrested, that “someone” is now the ordinary Turkish people; protestors, journalists, students.
The mayor of Istanbul, Imamoglu was arrested on March 19. After his landslide victory in the election, his next goal was the presidency — making him a direct rival to Erdogan. The charges against him were corruption and terrorism. Many of his supporters found the evidence lacking — most of the claims against him were based on a statement by an anonymous witness. Other than the lack of evidence, the timing also raised suspicion: on the 21st of February, Imamoglu applied to join the pre-election for presidential candidates. His arrest came just a month after.
After Imamoglu, local politicians from the Republican People’s Party (CHP) were taken into custody, along with their employees and even families. Around 500 people have since been arrested on charges similar to Imamoglu’s. Over the course of the investigation, Imamoglu’s lawyer was also taken into custody. Later, his lawyer’s lawyer also was. Imamoglu has consistently rejected all allegations against him, at court and in police statements, while his party has labeled these operations as a “civil coup”.
Following Imamoglu’s arrest, his party started holding meetings in the Saraçhane neighbourhood, in front of the Istanbul City Hall. Despite these meetings being legal political gatherings, attendees faced arrests and police violence. In the first six days of the protest 1418 people were taken into custody. Attendees were also met with tear gas, plastic bullets and physical force. The Ministry of Communication has denied these allegations, particularly saying that the police did not have plastic bullets. However, pictures of attendees injured by them have been shared on social media.
As the weeks went on with no sign of the government backing down, the meetings turned into protests and spread out of Saraçhane. Starting from March 19, there have been countless protests in city centers, in front of municipal buildings, on the streets or in university campuses. They were joined by the sounds of pots and pans banging from apartments every evening, at 8pm. The safety of campus was not enough to protect students from violence as police entered campuses, normally closed to outsiders, with plastic bullets, tear gas and riot-control vehicles, called TOMA, that spread water in order to disperse crowds. Those who were not detained during protests were taken from their homes at night, during the so-called “dawn operations”.
And the repression continued online, as people were arrested because of their posts on social media platforms. The movement relied heavily on social media as a way to communicate and organize — it was used to spread information about protests, arrests, and mistreatments in the hands of the police. Another way the protests were reflected on social media was the boycott movement. Starting in March, lists of brands and establishments linked to the government and the Justice and Development Party (AKP), the ruling party, were shared along with captions inviting people to boycott them. A boycott calendar was established by universities’ student associations, and certain days of the month were chosen to be zero consumption days. These calls also led to restaurants, cafes and shops closing on these days to show solidarity.
The government was not welcoming towards the boycott — social media users were once again taken into custody for their posts about the protests. Cem Yiğit Üzümoğlu, an actor known for the show Rise of the Empire: Ottoman among others, was among them and is still legally banned from leaving the country.
Even though protests started with the arrest of Imamoglu, and was highly reflected in the international media in that light, for some protestors it was an outcry against suppression and restriction. A similar wave of protests happened in 2013, starting as a resistance against the destruction of Gezi Park to construct a mall. What started as an objection to protect trees turned into a massive reaction against the restrictive policies of President Erdogan with protests taking place in almost every city in the country.
Within the current international context with protests going on around the world, the movement in Turkey can be seen as a small part of an ongoing global theme. However, for many citizens in Turkey it was a sign that enough is enough. As of September, Imamoglu has been arrested (on a charge unrelated to his arrest) and a state-appointed trustee has been appointed to his party. As the crackdown on opposition continues and universities are now reopening, whether the movement will continue is uncertain.
Another question left unanswered is the ultimate goal. While there seems to be a consensus between protesters that they do not want Erdogan as a president, what comes next differs widely. The protestors encompass people ranging from rightist nationalists to anarchists. As the chants of “Rights, law, justice” rise from crowds, everyone attaches a different meaning to these words. Perhaps that is why Ferah’s song resonated so much among protestors : “Be what you are, You, don’t give up, don’t be intimidated, don’t be weary”.
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