00:00Huge crowds gather in Istanbul, waving Turkish flags, while riot police stand guard.
00:09The mayor of Istanbul and potential presidential candidate, Ekrem İmamoğlu, has been arrested,
00:14triggering Turkey's largest protest in more than a decade.
00:17These are completely violations of our country's democracy and law.
00:23No power has the right to do this to Turkish youth and Turkish people.
00:29İmamoğlu was arrested on charges of corruption and leading a criminal organization.
00:34He was among over 100 people, including politicians and journalists, detained last Wednesday in
00:39an ongoing investigation, triggering five nights of protests.
00:43İmamoğlu is seen as one of the strongest political opponents to current President Recep
00:47Tayyip Erdoğan, who has been in power for 22 years.
00:51As long as there is a strong opponent in front of him, everyone is always trying to destroy
00:58him.
00:59That's how it is.
01:00There is dictatorship in Turkey right now, nothing else.
01:03İmamoğlu has denied the criminal charges against him, saying he will not bow down.
01:08Under the Turkish constitution, a president can only serve two consecutive five-year terms,
01:14meaning that Erdoğan cannot run again for the 2028 presidential election unless he changes
01:18the constitution.
01:20İmamoğlu's party, the Republican People's Party, or CHP, has argued that the arrest
01:25is a political move to prevent İmamoğlu from running.
01:28When he was detained for four days, Turkey sent him to court for him, and when Turkey
01:40chose him, they sent him to the Silivri prison and tried to make a coup against him.
01:52The Justice Ministry rejected claims linking Erdoğan to the arrests, emphasizing judicial
01:57independence.
01:58While the election council will determine İmamoğlu's eligibility to run, President
02:03Erdoğan has condemned the protests.
02:05We will not allow the CHP and its allies to disrupt public order and disturb the peace
02:12of our people.
02:13We will not allow new walls of hypocrisy to be built between 85 million and the social
02:19engineering of Turkey.
02:20Since İmamoğlu was detained for four days, he has denied the criminal charges against
02:25him, saying he will not bow down.
02:28Since İmamoğlu's detention, the Turkish currency, stocks and bonds have plunged, forcing
02:40the central bank to intervene to stabilize the lira.
02:43Authorities have arrested more than 700 people since the protests began, trying to suppress
02:47the growing unrest.
02:49As uncertainty looms over Turkey's next presidential election in 2028, fears over the state of
02:55his democracy continue to grow.
02:57Hank Shi and Chelsea Wu for Taiwan Plus.
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