ISTANBUL: Police fired tear gas to disperse protesters gathered outside the Istanbul branch of Turkey's main opposition CHP party on Monday, just days after a court ousted its leadership and appointed a replacement, an AFP correspondent said.
The move came as scuffles broke out with up to 200 protesters -- among them lawmakers -- many of whom had been there overnight after riot police fanned out around the building, setting up barricades in the area ahead of the arrival of the court-appointed replacement on Monday.
Police could be seen detaining between 10 and 20 people at the scene, the correspondent said.
The CHP (Republican People's Party), which won a huge victory over President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's AKP in the 2024 local elections and is rising in the polls, has come under increasing pressure from a growing number of legal probes alleging graft, which critics say are politically motivated.
The pressure began in earnest in March with the jailing of Istanbul's popular and powerful mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, seen as the sole candidate with a realistic chance at beating Erdogan at the ballot box.
The latest court decision last week ousted CHP's Istanbul leader Ozgur Celik and his leadership team -- unseating him and 195 others, in a move sent the stock market plunging 5.5 percent.
The CHP has appealed the ruling.
Court-appointed trustee Gursel Tekin was expected to try and enter the building with his team on Monday morning.
Although he is also a CHP member, his agreement to take the position has sparked deep anger within the party, which has tried to expel him.
As police moved in to blockade the building late Sunday, access to social media platforms and messaging apps was severely restricted, according to several internet watchdogs such as EngelliWeb and Turkey's Freedom of Expression Association IFOD.
“Following the police blockade of the CHP Istanbul Provincial Headquarters, social media platforms and messaging applications whose bandwidth was throttled/slowed down as of 2345 (2045 GMT) on September 7 include X, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, WhatsApp, Telegram and Signal,“ IFOD said.
Overnight, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya warned the security forces would act “resolutely” to prevent any disorder.
“With the interim court decision.. CHP Istanbul’s provincial leader and its board have been temporarily removed and a temporary board appointed in their place. Disregarding court decisions and trying to get people onto the streets clearly challenges the rule of law,“ he wrote on X - AFP
