Riot police in Izmir fired tear gas and used water cannons to disperse a rally called by ousted opposition leader Ozgur Ozel. Authorities ordered the closure of Cumhuriyet Square and deployed water cannon trucks before the rally began. The crowd was broken up, then the demonstration continued peacefully after being moved to a nearby location. Ozel addressed supporters from a bus and cited tens of thousands of participants in Izmir, a city seen as a secular opposition stronghold. The protests followed days after police stormed the CHP headquarters, removed journalists, and used tear gas to end a standoff involving CHP members and court-appointed leadership. An appeals court had nullified Ozel’s 2023 election as party chair and suspended him, ordering replacement by Kemal Kilicdaroglu.
"Turkish riot police on Tuesday fired tear gas and used water cannons to disperse a rally called in the coastal city of Izmir by the ousted opposition leader Ozgur Ozel. Ozel called the Izmir rally at midday (0900 GMT) as Turkey began preparations to shut down for four days to mark the religious holiday Eid al-Adha, which is also known as the Greater Eid. Before the rally began, the governorate ordered the closure of the city's central Cumhuriyet Square and deployed a large number of riot police with water cannon trucks to break up the flag-waving crowd, according to Turkish media reports."
""President Ozgur, free Turkey!" they shouted in scenes broadcast live on TV. The demonstration was moved to a nearby location, where it continued peacefully. Ozel addressed his supporters from a bus and spoke about the tens of thousands of participants in Izmir, a city considered a stronghold of the secular opposition. Protesters take to the streets to voice support for Ozgur OzelImage: Berkcan Zengin/REUTERS"
"The protests in Izmir came just days after police stormed the headquarters of Turkey's main opposition CHP party to take control of the building. Police stormed the premises using tear gas, and journalists were removed from the building in Ankara. That marked a violent end to a standoff that had been going on for several hours between members of the Republican Peoples' Party, or CHP, and its new court-appointed leadership. Riot police force their way into CHP headquarters on May 24Image: Efekan Akyuz/REUTERS"
"Tensions had been rising since last week when an appeals court nullified the election of Ozgur Ozel as party chairperson in 2023, suspending him and members of the party's executive board. The ruling said he should be replaced by Kemal Kilicdaroglu, his predecessor, who led the party for 13 years but never won any national elections. Ozel has become the face of Turkey's opposition [FILE: May 24, 2026]Image: CHP/Depo Pho"
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