Turkey detains 1,100 people since Erdogan rival’s arrest

ISTANBUL: Turkish police have detained more than 1,100 people, including journalists, since the arrest of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s main rival sparked the country’s worst unrest in years, a minister said on Monday.

The demonstrations began in Istanbul after Ekrem Imamoglu’s arrest last week and have since spread to more than 55 of Turkey’s 81 provinces, sparking clashes with riot police and drawing international condemnation.

The popular 53-year-old has been widely seen as the only politician who could defeat Turkey’s longtime leader Erdogan at the ballot box.