Turkish prosecutors have filed charges against 16 people, accusing them of “insulting the president” during demonstrations in front of İstanbul city hall protesting the detention and subsequent arrest of the mayor of İstanbul in March, the Anka news agency reported.
The demonstrations were in support of İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, also the main opposition Republican People’s Party’s (CHP) presidential candidate for the next general election and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s strongest political rival. The defendants were arrested during or shortly after the protests and have been held in pretrial detention for 45 days while prosecutors drafted the indictment.
The indictment lists 16 defendants, 14 in pretrial detention and two free under judicial supervision. An İstanbul court refused to order the release of the 14 detainees and ordered that they remain behind bars until trial.
The first hearing of their trial is set for May 30.
The prosecution is seeking prison sentences of from one to four years under Article 299 of the Turkish Penal Code, which criminalizes insulting the president. The charge has frequently been used in recent years against journalists, activists and social media users critical of Erdoğan.
İmamoğlu was detained on March 19 and arrested four days later. His removal from office has sparked the largest anti-government protests in Turkey since the 2013 Gezi Park demonstrations.
Police were quick to crack down, using tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannon to disperse the protesters, most of whom were university students or young people, who took to the streets in defiance of a ban on protests in İstanbul, Ankara and İzmir. Police detained nearly 2,000 people, many during pre-dawn operations.
The İstanbul prosecutor’s office announced last month that more than 819 people will be tried over the protests in 20 criminal investigations.