Protests in Turkey continue, with authorities detaining over 1400 demonstrators since the start of a large-scale movement a week ago in response to the arrest of Istanbul’s Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, a prominent opponent of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
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Tens of thousands of people gathered for the seventh consecutive night outside the Istanbul City Hall, called by the opposition.
On Tuesday evening, the leader of the main opposition party, the Republican People's Party (CHP), called for a massive demonstration on Saturday in Istanbul to support the imprisoned mayor of the city, Ekrem İmamoğlu.
Özgür Özel addressed the crowd gathered in front of the Istanbul Municipality Building, saying: "Will you participate in the large demonstration on Saturday to support Ekrem İmamoğlu, to oppose his detention, and to say we want early elections?"
Thousands of students, most of whom wore face masks to avoid being identified by the police, organized a march on Tuesday evening, receiving applause from local residents in a district on the European side of the city where their mayor is also imprisoned.
Turkish authorities announced the detention of 1418 people since March 19 for participating in banned gatherings, facing unprecedented protests since the Gezi Park movement that started in Taksim Square in Istanbul in 2013.
On Tuesday, an Istanbul court ordered the detention of seven Turkish journalists, one of whom is from Agence France-Presse (AFP), on charges of participating in banned protests in the country's three largest cities since last week.
Fabrice Fries, the chairman of Agence France-Presse, called on the Turkish presidency on Tuesday for the "immediate release" of AFP photographer Yasin Akgül, who was detained for participating in a protest in Istanbul that the Turkish authorities had banned.
In a letter to the Turkish presidency, Fries stated: "Yasin Akgül was not protesting; he was covering, as a journalist, one of the many protests organized in the country since Wednesday, March 19, following the arrest of Istanbul's opposition mayor." He described Akgül's detention as "unacceptable."
Akgül stated during his arrest that he had only been covering the demonstration, which he was accused of participating in, in Istanbul.
In Washington, U.S. Secretary of State Mark Rubio, while receiving his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan on Tuesday, expressed his "concern" regarding the detentions and protests.
The U.S. State Department issued a statement saying that Rubio "expressed concern about the detentions and recent protests in Turkey."
This marks the first official response from the U.S. Secretary of State regarding the Turkish government's handling of the protests, with Washington so far only calling for respect for human rights.
The NGO Reporters Without Borders condemned the "shameful decision, which reflects the dangerous situation currently in Turkey," adding that this is "the first time journalists have been detained while carrying out their work under this law against gatherings."
Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya stated that 979 demonstrators have been detained by the police, while 478 people have been referred to the courts.
