Eleven people detained in Turkey as part of investigation into boycott call

Protests that erupted across Turkey following the arrest of Istanbul's opposition mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu have taken on a new dimension with calls for a one-day shopping boycott. The student groups behind the demand also urged businesses to shutter.

The boycott campaign stems from large-scale anti-government protests began last month after the jailing of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu who is regarded as the main political challenger to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s 22-year rule.

In late March, Republican People's Party (CHP) Chairman Özgür Özel called for a boycott of some brands and television channels that are claimed to be close to the government. Soon afterwards came the call to forgo shopping on 2 April.

But the day before, the Istanbul Prosecutor's Office announced that it is investigating those behind the boycott calls on charges of "hate and discrimination" and "inciting the public to hatred and hostility".

As part of the investigation, a detention warrant was issued for 16 people, 11 of whom have now been detained.

Actors Union, the professional organisation of stage, screen, screen and microphone actors, announced on its X account on Thursday that among them is Cem Yiğit Üzümoğlu, the lead actor of the TV series Şakir Paşa Ailesi.

"Boycott is a form of protest that can be evaluated within the scope of the Constitution's freedom of expression and dissemination of thought and the right to assembly and demonstration. It is guaranteed by Articles 25, 26 and 34 of the Constitution," Üzümoğlu said in a post on social media.

The union issued a statement of solidarity for the actor: "Cem Yiğit Üzümoğlu is not alone".

TRT dismisses an actress

Meanwhile, the Turkish Radio-Television Corporation (TRT) announced in a statement that Aybüke Pusat, one of the lead actors of the TV series "Teşkilat", has been removed from the cast of the series because of her support for the proposed boycotts.

"The posts of an actress who took part in the Teşkilat series broadcast on TRT 1 are never in line with TRT's corporate principles," the statement read. "The person in question was removed from the series due to the shares (of social media posts) that disappointed the viewers of the Teşkilat series."

"Although the stock episodes of the series have been filmed, the script of the series will be revised. No one should be in doubt that the necessary steps will be taken for similar situations."

Meanwhile, the show "Rumi", written by screenwriter Ali Aydın, was removed from TRT's digital platform Tabi.

Aydın had addressed TRT regarding Aybuke Pusat as follows: "If you ignore the democratic right of the actor in the series Teşkilat and dismiss her with the threat of some hired hands, you will have to remove one of the most watched works of Tabi from your library."

TRT General Director Sobacı said Aydın had no relation with the organisation and that his series had been removed from the broadcaster's platforms.

Aydın's final response was as follows: "Since you lack the ability to produce content, you can only produce sword and shield series and feed some privileged producers whose identity is more or less obvious. I don't want those morsels either. It's the people's money."

2 April boycott

A large group of students from Istanbul University, Galatasaray University and Boğaziçi University pledged not to buy or sell anything on 2 April.

Many political figures, businesses and social media influencers, including CHP leader Özgür Özel, announced their participation in the boycott.

As part of the action, participants refrained from buying any products or services from markets, stores, restaurants and cafes. No orders were placed from e-commerce platforms, and no credit card use or money transfers were made.

CHP leader Özgür Özel also joined the boycott.

"I invite everyone to join this boycott and use their power that comes from consumption," CHP party leader Özel said in a post on social media.