Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has blamed the main opposition party, the Republican People's Party, whose members are the arrested Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, and its leader Özgür Özel, for the unrest during the protests that resulted in injuries to police officers and property damage.
"We have been following with concern the events that unfolded after the leader of the main opposition party called for people to take to the streets, which quickly escalated into violence. In these days, 123 of our police officers have been injured due to attacks by fringe organizations and urban bandits",
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said.
Erdoğan accused the party's leadership, including its chairman, of reckless actions that, according to him, led to injuries among police officers, shop windows being destroyed, and extensive damage to state property, estimated at billions of liras.
The president assured that the situation would be assessed by members of parliament. He emphasized that the reports prepared on the matter would be submitted to the court.
