The famous Turkish actor Cem Yiğit Üzümoğlu, known for starring in the miniseries on Netflix Rise of Empires: Ottoman Empire, is among those arrested in Turkey after the public prosecutor’s office launched an investigation into the boycott campaign launched on social networks with the support of the main opposition party in response to the arrest of the mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem İmamoğlu, accused of corruption.
According to the Turkish newspaper Hürriyet, Üzümoğlu is one of 16 individuals against whom the Turkish authorities have issued arrest warrants for publicly supporting and instigating a nationwide campaign promoted on social networks by the CHP party – to which the now imprisoned İmamoğlu belongs – to boycott several companies accused of aligning with the government.
As part of this boycott campaign, an initiative was also promoted in response to the arrest of 301 students during the protests in Turkey, calling on the public to follow an initiative so that, during 2 April, no one made any purchases or payments of any kind, including bill payments.
Following these calls, the Office of the Chief Public Prosecutor in Istanbul announced on 1 April the launch of an investigation against those responsible for using ‘divisive rhetoric’ to hinder economic activity and promote crimes of ‘discrimination’ and ‘incitement to hatred and hostility’; as a result, 11 of the 16 defendants were arrested this morning, including Üzümoğlu himself, who had actively supported boycott campaigns but also opposition protests.
National boycott called for 2 April fails
The campaign to refrain from shopping on 2 April, which the government described as ‘economic sabotage’ against the country’s economy, has had a rather limited impact, according to Turkish media reports. There has been no noticeable drop in the number of people shopping in shops, bazaars, markets or shopping centres, nor has there been a decrease in online shopping or payments.
On the contrary, data released by the Interbank Payment Centre (BKM) and published by the Turkish press indicate that during 2 April – the day of the national boycott – total transactions amounted to 28 billion liras (668 million euros), double the amount recorded on 1 April, which amounted to 14 billion lira (334 million euros), also exceeding the average purchases made during March. ‘The boycotters lost, and the Turkish economy won,’ said Turkish Trade Minister Ömer Bolat upon receiving the data.
After appearing before the judge, Cem Yiğit Üzümoğlu was released under judicial control, the same as the other detainees. The famous 31-year-old Turkish actor made his debut in Turkish television series in 2017 starring in the series ‘Adı Efsane’; however, he gained much of his international fame in 2020 when he starred in the Netflix docuseries Rise of Empires: Ottoman, which tells the story of the fall of Constantinople in 1453 and in which the actor played the role of the Ottoman sultan Mehmet the Conqueror.
VOTE
EDITORIAL TEAM
🧿 About us
.
Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
…
📣 Your ADVERTISING on Hispanatolia
.
🤗 HELP US WITH A DONATION:
💗 Paypal
