Turkish riot police shoved RT correspondent Yasin Eken on Sunday evening as he was covering large-scale protests in support of detained Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu.
A group of officers in full riot gear approached Eken and his cameraman and aggressively pushed them. Some of the officers were wearing gas masks.
In the video of the altercation, Eken is heard asking, “What have I done?” Eken went to the hospital after the scuffle.
The protests continued for the fifth consecutive day in Istanbul, Ankara, and other major cities. In some cases, police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse the crowds.
The opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) has called on supporters to take to the streets and demand the release of Imamoglu, who was detained on Wednesday.
The authorities have charged Imamoglu, who ran for vice president in 2023, with corruption and having links to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which is listed as a terrorist group in Türkiye.
On Sunday, the Interior Ministry suspended Imamoglu from office. Imamoglu has denied any wrongdoing and dismissed the prosecution as politically motivated.