Unrest at home splits Turkish diaspora

Several hundred of them attended a protest in central Berlin on Sunday in support of Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu.

- Femke Colborne

A hundreds of people gathered for a rally in support of Turkish opposition leader Ekrem Imamoglu in central Berlin, Turkish builder Ali was queueing up to buy pastries across town.

“In my opinion, there’s nothing wrong with it,” said Ali of the arrest of opposition leader Ekrem Imamoglu, which has sparked Turkey’s worst street unrest in over a decade.

“If something similar had happened here, the police would overrule the same way. Of course the person has to go to court,” said the 55-year-old, who did not want to give his last name.

Mr Imamoglu, the mayor of Istanbul and a key rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was arrested on March 19 on corruption charges his supporters say are false.