On the night of September 7-8, Turkish law enforcement blocked access to the Republican People's Party office in Istanbul. This occurred after the local leadership was suspended from their duties and authority was transferred to an interim council. The information was reported by the Hurriyet newspaper.
Members of the Republican Party described the blockade as a "siege," accused the authorities of a political coup, and called on their supporters to gather near the building, ignoring a three-day ban on public gatherings.
Protesters chanted slogans: "Erdogan is a dictator!" and "We are soldiers of Mustafa Kemal!" At one point, opposition members managed to break into the building, but security forces pushed them out. Several clashes with the police occurred during the events.
Simultaneously, as reported by the media, starting around midnight, Telegram, X, YouTube, as well as Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and WhatsApp stopped working in Istanbul.
Last week, a court suspended the Istanbul leadership of the Republican People's Party from power on corruption charges, appointing former deputy Gursel Tekin as the new head of the branch. The party stated that this decision is illegal and refused to recognize it.
The Republican People's Party, founded by Mustafa Atatürk, has faced extensive judicial persecution following its success in last year's local elections. Pressure from security forces intensified in March when the party's most popular politician and main opponent of Recep Tayyip Erdogan—Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu—was arrested.