TURKISH authorities detained 37 people for sharing “provocative” content on social media, the interior minister said today.

Turkish authorities are expanding a crackdown on dissenting voices that escalated with the arrest of the mayor of Istanbul, a potential challenger to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu was arrested after a dawn raid on his residence on Wednesday as part of investigations into alleged corruption and terror links. 

Several other prominent figures, including two district mayors, were also detained.

The detention of a popular opposition leader and key rival to President Erdogan deepened concerns over democracy, sparking protests in Istanbul and elsewhere despite road closures and a four-day ban on demonstrations in the city. 

Several people were detained following a student protest in the capital, Ankara.

Critics see the crackdown as an effort by President Erdogan to extend his more than two-decade rule.

Government officials reject claims that legal actions against opposition figures are politically motivated and insist that the courts operate independently.

Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said authorities had identified 261 social media accounts that shared provocative posts inciting public hatred or crime, including 62 run by people based abroad. 

At least 37 of the alleged owners were detained in an operation by police and cyber crime teams, he wrote on the X social media platform.