Turkey detains more than dozen over boycotts as crackdown on celebrities expands
The crackdown against boycott calls is expanding with blocking of social media accounts and removal of actors from TV productions.
ANKARA — Turkish police on Thursday detained more than a dozen people over calls for economic boycotts following the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu.
Imamoglu, presidential contender of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and a key rival of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was arrested last month on corruption charges. Government critics believe the arrest was politically motivated, leading to nationwide mass protests and calls for economic boycotts.
As part of an investigation launched by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office into boycott calls earlier this week, authorities issued detention warrants for 16 individuals, Turkey’s state-run Anadolu News Agency reported. Eleven people have been taken into custody so far on charges of inciting hatred and sowing division, Anadolu said. Police were still searching for the remaining five at the time of reporting.
Among the detainees is young actor Cem Yigit Uzumoglu, who was taken into custody in a pre-dawn police raid, the Turkish Actors Union said.
