A teacher who climbed onto a police water cannon vehicle during a police intervention at a protest organized by the ousted leader of Turkey’s main opposition party in western İzmir province on Tuesday has been arrested and suspended from his civil service job, the Sözcü daily reported, Turkish Minute reported.
Deniz Yolçu was detained on Tuesday as police intervened against people trying to gather near İzmir’s Cumhuriyet Square for a rally called by Özgür Özel, the ousted leader of the Republican People’s Party (CHP).
The rally had been banned by the İzmir Governor’s Office, which cited concerns about the size limitations of the square and asked the CHP to move the event to a nearby square. The party rejected the request and said the rally would go ahead as planned.
Police cordoned off the area around Cumhuriyet Square with barricades and used tear gas and water cannon to disperse people trying to enter the square. Three people were detained during the intervention.
Video footage from the protest showed Yolçu climbing onto a police water cannon vehicle, known as a TOMA, as officers used pressurized water against protesters.
The video was widely shared on social media.
Turkish media reported that he was kicked during the incident and that his nose was broken.
Despite the risk of head trauma, Yolçu was held in custody before being referred to court, according to media reports.
Yolçu was arrested, while the other two were released.
The İzmir Bar Association criticized Yolçu’s arrest in a statement, saying it “undermines the essence of the most basic constitutional rights and freedoms.”
The İstanbul Governor’s Office later announced that Yolçu, who was a vice principal at a girls’ high school in İstanbul’s Fatih district, had been suspended from his job and that an administrative investigation had been launched.
The İzmir protest came days after a court ruling annulled the CHP’s 2023 congress, removing Özel and the party’s current leadership from office and reinstating former chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu and his team.
The decision deepened turmoil in Turkey’s largest opposition party and was criticized by rights groups and opposition figures as part of an escalating campaign against the CHP.
The party has faced growing legal and political pressure since its sweeping victory over President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in the March 2024 local elections.
Dozens of CHP-run municipalities have since been targeted in investigations, with elected mayors detained, arrested or removed from office.
The government denies targeting the opposition and says the judiciary acts independently.
The case also comes against the backdrop of severe restrictions on the right to protest in Turkey. The Turkish government routinely bans opposition gatherings, citing public order concerns, while police frequently disperse demonstrations with tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannon.
Following the arrest of İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu of the CHP in March 2025, nearly 2,000 people, many of them university students, were detained during nationwide protests, while dozens were arrested. İmamoğlu, widely seen as Erdoğan’s strongest political rival, remains jailed on corruption charges he denies.
The CHP says the cases targeting its politicians and municipalities are politically motivated and aimed at rolling back the opposition’s local election gains.
