Turkish people hold underground demos against government

Hundreds of people in Turkey have held demonstrations at metro stations in Istanbul and Ankara to protest against the government, which has been hit by a massive corruption scandal.

The underground protests against the government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan were staged on Tuesday, a day after the Istanbul station’s security guard beat a homeless man, sending him to the hospital with a brain hemorrhage.

The 20-year-old man had reportedly jumped over the turnstile to board a train without paying.

Local media outlets say one person has been injured in the Ankara protest.

In Istanbul, anti-government activists held up pictures of the Turkish prime minister’s son Bilal Erdogan and shouted slogans against the government, condemning the corruption scandal.

Twenty-four people, including the sons of Interior Minister Muammer Guler and Economy Minister Zafer Caglayan, and Suleyman Aslan, the head of state-owned Halkbank, have been formally charged with corruption.

Local media have reported that Erdogan’s son may face investigation.

Erdogan has replaced the economy, interior, and environment ministers.

Erdogan denounced the probe as a plot to undermine his government ahead of the local elections in March, adding that the graft allegations against businesspersons and government officials are hindering the economic growth.

In an address to the nation on Tuesday, Erdogan said the corruption scandal was cover for an assassination attempt. “This conspiracy is an assassination attempt hidden under the cover of corruption.”

“It has targeted the government of the people. It has targeted the nation’s will, democracy and the ballot box,” he noted.

On Friday, the Turkish premier said the corruption probe against his government is a “smear campaign” planned by outside forces.

“There are outside powers behind this,” Erdogan said in a speech in the northwestern city of Sakarya.

“The target of the attack is Turkey whose economy is growing… and whose weight in the world increases,” he added.