More than a week since the arrest of popular Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, and his subsequent suspension from office, hundreds of thousands have taken daily to the streets to demonstrate.

Imamoglu, a prominent political rival of autocratic Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, called on supporters of his Republican People's Party (CHP) to protest following his detention on corruption charges. The mayor is among tens of thousands of political prisoners in Turkey. 

More than 1,900 people have been detained since the protests began, including several journalists — among them a photographer from French news agency, AFP, who was taken from his home at dawn after covering the demonstrations, the agency reported.

Turkish civil society and cultural institutions have experienced this before. When a sit-in at Gezi Park in Istanbul was broken up by police in June 2013, more than 3 million people joined the protests against the violent eviction. But a brutal government crackdown ensued.

Opposing the Erdogan government's plans to redevelop Gezi park, many of the prodeminantly young demonstrators were supported by actors, writers, filmmakers and musicians.

Some were labeled instigators of the resistance, including Osman Kavala, a patron of the arts and a human rights activist who was charged with attempting to overthrow the Turkish government. He was given a life sentence in 2022 and remains in prison.

Kavala had founded Anadolu Kultur, a foundation that runs cultural centers in neglected regions of Turkey. The foundation's current managing director is Asena Gunal.

"President Erdogan wanted to get rid of his main rival by using the judiciary and the police," she said of the recent arrest of Imamoglu. "This is a serious blow to democracy."

But Gunal is buoyed by the large number of young people, including school and university students, who have joined the demonstrations.

"These young educated people want to go abroad because they see no future here," Günal observed. "But by defending themselves against Erdogan's latest attack, they are saying: 'We want to stay here. We want a future in this country. We will not leave.'"

This "very clear" message has motivated many other citizens to join the protests, she believes.

Protest more muted in cultural sector

Others fear an escalating government and police crackdown on resistance voices, as happened during Gezi, or after the alleged coup against Ergogan's government in 2016.

"We are very concerned about Turkish civil society — and about our local partners,” said Jannes Tessmann, who represents the German Mercator Foundation in Istanbul.

The foundation promotes Turkey-German relations by working together with think tanks, universities and cultural organizations. Among its project partners was Osman Kavala.

Like many in cultural organizations that have been targetted by Erdogan's regime, Tessmann exercises extreme caution.

He told DW that he "fears that the repression against members of the opposition will continue," and intimated that the crackdown is muting dissent in the culture scene. 

"Many who are now on the streets are disappointed by the silence from the cultural sector," said  Tessmann, noting the contrast with the Gezi protests when cultural activists loudly sided with the protesters.

"On social media," he said, "many people have complained that it doesn't seem to be the same this time."

 A 'new level of repression'

Tina Blohm, head of the Istanbul and Ankara offices of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES), a German pro-democracy political foundation, says that many more opposition figures will be arrested as part of ongoing investigations.

She adds that the develpments of the last few days amount to a "new level of repression."

Blohm writes in an FES publication that Imamoglu's arrest once seemed impossible due to his popularity at home — and abroad.

"It could become the 'new normal' for the arrested politicians to remain in prison," she wrote.

"This does not bode well for democracy in Turkey,” Blohm told DW. As the judicial system is politicized and loses its independence, this will increase the government's scope to "take action against government critics."

Journalists targeted by the judiciary

One recently arrested journalist, Ismail Saymaz, has been charged for reporting on the Gezi protests some 12 years ago. Like Osman Kavala, who he had spoken to in 2013, the journalist is accused of having "supported an attempt to overthrow the Turkish government" and is now under house arrest.

As reported in German newspaper, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, the reporter from the opposition-affiliated Halk TV channel, was targeted by the public prosecutor's office that is also investigating Imamoglu.

The Istanbul-based editor of the German-language Istanbul Post, Stefan Hibbeler, believes that Turkey's remaining independent media in particular are under increasing pressure.

"This is new," Hibbeler told DW, referring to the "criminal offense of disinformation" that the courts have "interpreted very generously."

The problem, says Hibbeler, is the fact that many Turkish citizens do not question the predominantly pro-government media.

Several Turkish broadcasters had previously been reprimanded and fined by the state media regulator for their reports on Imamoglu's arrest.

Contrary to legal regulations, television stations were contacted via officials and asked to stop their live broadcasts under threat that their licenses would be revoked.

Opposition unified as economy crashes

While Jannes Tessmann notes a level of silence from sections of civil society, including the cultural sector, in the week since the mass protests began, Asena Günal, the head of Anadolu Kultur, is more optimistic.

"Erdogan took a big risk,” she said. "But I think he miscalculated."

On the one hand, his actions have damaged the Turkish economy. Share prices have plummeted and the value of the national currency, the lira, has fallen dramatically.

But even more importantly, the backlash may continue.

"Erdogan's action has created an atmosphere in which the opposition is united and people are beginning to believe in change," she said.

This article was originally published in German.