About 60 Demonstrators Detained In Clashes With Police In Istanbul - Reports

ISTANBUL (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 01st June, 2023) The Turkish police detained 59 demonstrators in the center of Istanbul on Wednesday, who gathered to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the 2013 anti-government demonstrations in nearby Gezi Park and engaged in clashes with law enforcement, local media reported.

The demonstration at Taksim Square to commemorate the victims of the 2013 events took place without incidents, Turkish news agency DHA reported. However, a group of activists of the Communist Party of Turkey waving party flags went to Istiklal Avenue, a pedestrian street popular with tourists, and started shouting political slogans. The action led to clashes with police, who subsequently detained 37 people, the media reported.

Another 22 demonstrators, reportedly belonging to the Campus Witches group of activists, were detained for disobedience to police during demonstrations at Macka Democracy Park in central Istanbul and Taksim Square, the report said.

Demonstrations against the reconstruction of Ottoman-era Taksim Military Barracks and the felling of trees in Gezi Park near Taksim Square turned into violent clashes with the police on May 31, 2013. The demonstrations soon turned into anti-government protests, in particular against the increasing Islamization of the country. The protest movement was supported by half of Turkey's provinces and by Turks living in Europe.