Turkish police fire teargas to break up protest after opposition leader ousted

Water cannon also used at rally called by Özgür Özel days after court dismissed him as CHP leader Riot police in Turkey have fired teargas and water cannon to break up a rally called by the ousted opposition leader Özgür Özel days after a court dismissed him from office. On Sunday, riot police had battered their way into the main opposition CHP’s headquarters in the capital, Ankara, firing teargas and beating party members before throwing them out, Özel said. A shock court ruling last Thursday overturned a 2023 party primary that elected Özel. It was the latest in a string of moves against the CHP, Turkey’s oldest political party, which scored a win over Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s ruling AKP in 2024 local elections and has been rising in the polls. Since the court ruling, the party has been in chaos. The ruling ordering Özel’s defeated rival Kemal Kıliçdaroğlu, seen as a lacklustre politician, to resume his position as CHP leader. Özel called the lunchtime rally in İzmir 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 numb