On the morning of March 19, Istanbul Metropolitan Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu was taken into custody. Before his arrest, he shared a video message, saying he entrusted himself to the nation. Additionally, names such as Mahir Polat, the founder of IBB Miras, which restored 942 heritage sites, were also detained.
University students were the first to protest. Within a short time, demonstrations spread across multiple cities. Starting on March 19, protests took place in front of Istanbul’s IBB headquarters in Saraçhane, as well as in other cities. During these protests, 301 people, most of them between the ages of 18 and 22, were arrested.
On March 23, the opposition held a vote and officially nominated İmamoğlu as their presidential candidate. Protests continued nationwide until March 25.
Özgür Özel, the leader of the main opposition party CHP, called for a boycott of certain brands and TV channels during this time. The movement quickly gained momentum and turned into a nationwide consumer boycott on April 2, 2025.
Özel expressed his support for the boycott: “I wholeheartedly support the consumption boycott initiated by young people against this persecution of students, mothers, fathers and siblings.”
Several artists who had publicly supported the movement also called for the release of the detained university students. Many of these artists later backed the boycott as well.
Actress Aybüke Pusat, who starred in TRT’s series The Shadow Team, initially shared a post supporting the boycott on Instagram but later deleted it. On April 2, it was announced that Aybüke Pusat was no longer part of the series.
Following this, actor Boran Kuzum, who voiced his support for Aybüke Pusat, was also dismissed from Bir Ruh Macerası, an upcoming series set to air on TRT’s streaming platform, tabii. Similarly, actor Furkan Andıç, who had just started filming for Muhabir, another series on tabii, was removed from the project due to his social media post supporting Aybüke Pusat.
Today, on April 3, Cem Yiğit Üzümoğlu, an actor and board member of the Actors’ Union, was taken into custody after expressing support for the boycott on social media.
The Actors’ Union released a statement on X, saying: “Cem Yiğit Üzümoğlu is not alone.”
Full Statement:
“Our colleague, friend, and fellow Actors’ Union Board Member Cem Yiğit Üzümoğlu was taken into custody early this morning.
We are working to gather information about the details of the investigation.
We are in contact with his lawyers.
Cem Yiğit Üzümoğlu is not alone. ”
