Ousted opposition leader Ozgur Ozel called a rally to be held on 26th May in Turkey, which was broken up by riot police using tear gas and water cannon, days after a court removed him from office.

The demonstration in the city of Izmir followed riot police storming the main opposition CHP’s office in the capital Ankara in unprecedented scenes on Tuesday with tear gas and beatings of party members before they were tossed out, Ozel said in an interview with AFP.

The dramatic scenes came in response to a shock court decision on Thursday that declared a 2023 party primary result, which saw Ozel win, unconstitutional.

It was the latest in a series of attacks on the CHP, Turkey’s oldest political party, which gained a political victory in the 2024 local elections over President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling AKP party, and which has been gaining popularity.

Since the ruling, the party has been in chaos.

Ozel called the Izmir rally at midday (0900 GMT) as Turkey was poised to shut down for the four-day Eid al-Adha holiday, which begins on Wednesday.

Ahead of the rally, the governorate ordered the closure of the city’s central Cumhuriyet Square, deploying a large number of riot police with water cannon trucks, who tried to break up the flag-waving crowd, Turkish media reported.

In scenes broadcast live on TV, they shouted “President Ozgur, free Turkey!” – his name, the Turkish word for free – shouted.

Ozel and his leadership were removed from office after a court trial over allegations that he was buying votes during the 2023 primary election.

In October, the case was dismissed for lack of substance, but was brought back on appeal.

The CHP’s campaign to silence their leading political opponent and presidential hopeful, Ekrem Imamoglu, mayor of Istanbul, got underway with his jailing for charges that were broadly regarded as political.

Ozel said in a phone interview with AFP late Sunday, “Erdogan has lost all restraint.”

“Just as he put the presidential candidate who could beat him in prison, he is now effectively putting the political party that can beat him out of the game,” he said.

“Turkey has abandoned its status as a modern democratic republic and is now a one-man rule.”