Mar 28, 2025 07:10 AM IST
Thousands of people hit the streets in Turkey to protest against the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s top rival.
Mass protests have broken out in Turkey following the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu for alleged links to terrorist groups. Imamoglu is President Tayyip Erdogan’s biggest political rival. Amid the various visuals of the protests, a bizarre video has surfaced online. It shows a protester in an inflatable Pikachu costume fleeing from the police during the crackdown.
Writer and political commentator Adam Schwarz shared the video on Bluesky and wrote, “Pikachu was spotted amongst anti-Erdoğan protesters fleeing from police in Antalya, Turkey last night.” Re-posting the clip on X, a user of the platform joked, “The Pokemon have risen against Erdogan.”
According to 404 Media, the first video of the Pikachu in crowd was captured by Ismail Koçeroğlu, a photojournalist at Akdeniz University in Antalya. Later, an AI-generated image of a Pikachu among the protesters also went viral on social media.
The video shows chaos in the streets of Turkey, with people running from the police. Among them is a protester who is running as fast as possible while wearing an inflatable Pokemon costume.
Take a look at the video:
Why was Ekrem Imamoglu arrested?
A leading figure in the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), he was detained on allegations of aiding a terrorist group, reported Reuters. In an X post, he issued a statement: “I will not give up.” His arrest led to widespread protests, resulting in the detaining of nearly 1,900 protestors.
Turkey justice minister’s remark:
“We don’t want the arrest of any politician, but if there is evidence of a violation then it can happen,” Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said to international media representatives in Istanbul through a translator, reported Reuters.
“If we look at the gravity of the allegations, and as there is risk that evidence can be concealed, the judiciary has made a reasonable decision,” he added.
