*Event date: 2025-04-03*
Turkish police have detained 11 people suspected of spreading calls for a one-day shopping boycott in support of protests over the arrest of Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu. The case adds a new legal front to the opposition campaign and shows how economic protest has become another pressure point in Turkey's political crisis.
The boycott followed a call by main opposition leader Ozgur Ozel for a wider protest against businesses seen as close to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government. According to the packet, the detained people were targeted over social-media posts urging the public not to spend money for a day and asking businesses to close in solidarity. One of the detained people was a lead actor in Netflix's "Rise of Empires: Ottoman", which helped draw more attention to the case.
The Istanbul chief public prosecutor's office issued arrest warrants for 16 suspects in an investigation into "hatred and discrimination" and "inciting hatred and hostility" among the public. That legal framing is significant because it shows the state treating boycott calls not as ordinary protest speech but as a possible public-order offence. The government, meanwhile, has condemned the boycott of pro-government businesses as an attempt to destabilise the economy.
The wider context is Imamoglu's detention on corruption charges, which he denies. He is seen as the only opposition figure capable of challenging Erdogan in a presidential race, and his arrest has triggered large anti-government protests across Turkey. The CHP says the charges are politically motivated and has nominated him as its candidate despite his detention.
The boycott itself is not just about shopping. It reflects how opposition groups are trying to widen resistance beyond rallies into consumer behaviour, media pressure and symbolic economic disruption. The packet notes that some cafes, restaurants and bars in Ankara and Istanbul stayed shut in support. That kind of partial compliance shows the protest has moved into everyday life, even if it does not yet amount to a full economic shutdown.
The report also places the dispute inside Turkey's fragile macroeconomic environment. The lira has been at historically low levels and inflation remains high, which means any boycott or street mobilisation can quickly become entangled with broader concerns about confidence in the economy. That does not prove the boycott had a measurable market effect, but it helps explain why the government may be sensitive to it.
For now, the verified facts are simple: 11 detentions, boycott-related social media activity, a prosecutor's office investigation and an opposition movement that shows no sign of fading after Imamoglu's arrest. The legal, economic and political fights are now running together.
