Turkey's Erdogan continues crackdown on protesters following arrest of main rival on corruption charges

The Istanbul mayor and 106 other municipal officials and politicians were detained on March 19 for what Human Rights Watch called a politically motivated move to stifle lawful political activities.

"By forcing Imamoglu out of politics, the government has crossed the line that separates Turkey's competitive authoritarian regime from a full, Russian-style autocracy in which the president handpicks his opponents and elections are purely for show," Gonul Tol, Director of Turkish Program at the Middle East Institute, told Fox News Digital.

A spokesperson from Turkey's embassy in Washington, D.C., told Fox News Digital that Turkey's Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said 1,133 people have been detained since the arrest of the mayor, and around 123 police officers have been injured since the start of protests. Yerlikaya also alleged that weapons were seized during the protests and the individuals detained were found to have ties to different terrorist organizations and prior criminal records.

"This is a dark time for democracy in Turkey, with such a blatantly lawless move to weaponize the justice system to cancel the democratic process," Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia Director at Human Rights Watch, told Fox News Digital in a statement.

Despite the increased repression and threats to their own safety and security, the Turkish opposition does not yet seem to be backing down.

"We, as the main opposition party that emerged as the first party in the last local elections in March 2024, will stand firm and resist any kind of oppression by the government," İlhan Uzgel, CHP Deputy Chairman for Foreign Policy, told Fox News Digital.

"We are happy to see that our people take to the streets despite the occasional use of force by the riot police, and demonstrate peacefully, which is a constitutional right," he added.

The danger, according to Tol, is that street protests in the Middle East and elsewhere tend to go in many different directions, and there is no telling how long the public anger over the arrests will last and how much more popular support the movement will gain.

Reuters contributed to this article.