The protests that began after the detention of 87 people, including Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) Mayor Ekrem Imamoğlu, continue across the country. The protests are particularly concentrated on university campuses and city centers.

According to Turkish state authorities, 343 people were detained in connection with the protest demonstrations in Ankara, Istanbul, İzmir, Adana, Antalya, Antalya, Çanakkale, Eskişehir, Konya and Edirne.

Ekrem Imamoğlu, a key rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, was taken into custody on 19 March as part of an investigation into alleged corruption and links with 'terrorist organizations'.

The terror-related investigation centers on the cooperation between the Republican People’s Party (CHP) and the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party in last year’s municipal elections. As part of this alliance, the DEM Party refrained from fielding candidates in certain districts or ran candidates on CHP lists, allowing them to secure municipal council seats.

Prosecutors launched an investigation into this cooperation last month, alleging that the collaboration was orchestrated by the PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party). The probe has already led to the detention of municipal officials and council members from various Istanbul district municipalities.

The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office claims that Imamoğlu aided the KCK (Kurdistan Communities Union) through the "City Consensus".