The number of arrests in Turkey since this month's mass protests began has risen to 1,418, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on Tuesday.
The protests are the largest the country has seen in over a decade - since the Gezi protests in 2013.
The unrest started on Wednesday, 19 March, following the arrest of popular opposition politician Ekrem Imamoglu, the suspended mayor of Istanbul. He is accused of corruption and terrorism, charges that Imamoglu and his CHP, the largest opposition party in Turkey, say are politically motivated.
Demonstrators describe Imamoglu’s arrest as a political and undemocratic action. Protests have been held across most of the country, despite being banned in some areas. There have been clashes between protesters and riot police at certain demonstrations.
Because of the ongoing protests, officials in Ankara have extended the ban on demonstrations until 1 April. In Izmir, the third-largest city and an opposition stronghold, a similar ban is in place until 29 March. In Istanbul, a ban has been enforced for six days.
Despite this, tens of thousands of people gathered outside Istanbul’s city hall on Monday evening.
Özgür Özel, chairman of the CHP, called for another meeting on Tuesday evening. He visited the Silivri prison, about 70 kms west of Istanbul, where the mayor and 48 co-accused, including two CHP district mayors, have been held since Sunday.
“I met three lions inside. They hold their heads high like lions,” Özel told reporters as he left the prison.
The United Nations has expressed deep concern over the mass arrests, urging authorities to investigate allegations of unlawful violence against demonstrators.
"We are very concerned by the detention of at least 92 people by the Turkish authorities over the past week, including Ekrem Imamoglu, Istanbul's democratically-elected mayor," UN Human Rights Office spokeswoman Liz Throssell said in a statement.
