Dozens arrested in Istanbul May Day protests
Istanbul, May 1 (EFE).- Dozens of people were arrested and over 160 were fined on Sunday during May Day protests in Istanbul, where international worker’s day has been banned for years by the authorities.
A statement from the Istanbul governor’s office on Sunday said it had intercepted an unauthorized demonstration and that ‘legal proceedings’ had been launched against 164 protesters.
The Ministry of the Interior banned labor day celebrations in Taksim Square, in downtown Istanbul, where until 2012 hundreds of thousands of people gathered to mark May Day.
The city government deployed police to the square and closed several streets to traffic and pedestrians.
The operation prevented a crowd from accessing the emblematic square, as discontent among the city’s residents continues to escalate amid soaring inflation.
An authorized event in a park in Maltepe, on the eastern outskirts of Istanbul, drew tens of thousands of people Sunday, and authorities have allowed some trade union to lay flower wreaths in Taksim.
May Day is being observed in dozens of cities in Turkey in a largely peaceful atmosphere, but both in Istanbul and Ankara police have camped down on some groups of protesters. EFE
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