Who was that protester? It’s Pikachu!
The Pikachu costume demonstrators joined the thousands of protesters who took him to the streets to express their anger over the mayor of Istanbul’s arrest.
The Pokemon-themed activists were seen marching before fleeing as police officers and water cannons rushed to disperse the crowd.
Nearly 1,900 people have been arrested so far, officials said.
Last week’s arrest of Mayor Ekrem Imamoguru sparked public protests. He denied the corruption charges imposed against Erdogan after being nominated as the Republican presidential candidate to challenge Erdogan in the 2028 election.
Protesters argue that Imamoguru’s arrest is politically motivated, but Erdogan has accused the protesters of them of “wicked” agents who are “disturbing peace.”
Turkey has launched a major crackdown on demonstrations. Authorities deported BBC reporter Mark Lowen on Thursday after the ground-based extent of Istanbul’s unrest.
Turkish officials accused Loewen of “a threat to public order,” and detained him on Wednesday, preparing for deportation 17 hours later.
It was extremely painful to be detained and deported from a country where I had such affection,” Lowen told the BCC.
Deborah Turnness, CEO of the BBC’s news division, condemned Lowen’s deportation, saying the move is a troubling sign of what is happening in Turkey.
“Mark is a very experienced correspondent with deep knowledge of turkeys and journalists should not face this type of treatment just to get the job done,” Turnes said. “We will continue to report on the events in Türkiye in a fair and fair manner.”
Along with Louen, seven Turkish reporters were also arrested while covering the protests. There is also a photojournalist from the Agency France Press, a French news agency.
Turkish Home Minister Ali Yarikaya said 1,878 people have been arrested since the protest began last Wednesday.
Turkish Justice Minister Irmaz Tank alleges that Imamoguru was arrested on the basis of the severity of the corruption allegations imposed on him, not by politics.
Tunc also denied reporters from Turkish prison reporters reporting the report, despite the arrests of eight reporters who were subsequently released.
Free speech advocacy group, Borderless Reporter, ranked 158th out of 180 countries on the 2024 press freedom index, claiming that the government has a direct impact on 90% of all media.
With post wire
