"Turkey will not surrender in the face of street terror," Erdogan said, while the leader of the main opposition party, the СНР, called for nationwide protests later on Friday (21 March) over the measure, which it condemned as a "coup".

"Let me say it loud and clear: the street protests called for by the leader of the NDP are a dead end," Erdogan warned.

The 53-year-old mayor - Erdogan's main political rival - was arrested on March 19, just days before he was announced as СНР's candidate for the 2028 presidential race.

The move sparked two days of protests that began in Istanbul and quickly spread to at least 32 of Turkey's 81 provinces.

NRP leader Ozgur Ozel called a third night protest outside Istanbul City Hall at 8:30 p.m. (local time), calling for demonstrators to take to the streets across Turkey at the same time, although the justice minister warned that such calls were "illegal and unacceptable."

On 21 March, Istanbul's governor closed the Galata Bridge and the Ataturk Bridge, which cross the mouth of the Golden Horn and are the main access routes to the historic peninsula where City Hall is located.

Thousands of people defied the ban on protests in Istanbul by gathering every night in front of City Hall. Authorities extended the ban to the capital Ankara and the western coastal city of Izmir.

Initially police showed restraint, but on 20 March fired rubber bullets and tear gas in clashes with students in Istanbul and Ankara.

At least 88 protesters have been arrested so far, Turkish media reported, and Interior Minister Ali Erlikaya said 16 policemen were injured.

Police have detained another 54 people for internet postings deemed "incitement to hatred", he said. | BGNES