Erdoğan presents footage of Georgian protests as unrest in Turkey

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has released a video attacking the main opposition party and accusing it of ‘vandalism’ during the ongoing protests in the country. However, some of the footage included in the video, which Erdoğan presented as being from Turkey, was actually filmed in Tbilisi.

Initially, Erdoğan displayed the video on a screen during his speech at his Justice and Development Party (AKP) parliamentary group meeting. Later, he also posted it on his official social media accounts.

At the beginning of the 5.5-minute video, various infrastructure projects carried out in Turkey are showcased against a backdrop of stirring music. The second part mainly focused on the ongoing protests and clashes.

Erdoğan’s opponents soon noticed that a six-second segment (4:15-4:26) of the video was not filmed in Istanbul or any other Turkish city, but rather in Tbilisi, Georgia. Specifically, the video was filmed on the back street of the Georgian Parliament during a confrontation between demonstrators and the police. It was not immediately clear when the video was taken, but it was unmistakably filmed in Tbilisi.

The video concluded with Erdoğan’s speech, stating, ‘There is no destination for those who sow terror in the streets and want to turn this country into a fire’.

The inclusion of footage from Tbilisi in the video was later criticised by Turkey’s main opposition party, the Republican People’s Party (CHP) during a parliamentary session.

‘We do not think that the president was misled by his advisors because he has a history of publishing edited video footage’, CHP Group Deputy Chairperson Murat Emir said during the meeting, referencing past video manipulations by the ruling party of Turkey.

In response, speaking about ‘terrorists and provocateurs’ who are ‘agitating and provoking our youth’ during the protests, ruling party MP Muhammet Emin Akbaşoğlu said the video ‘is not an edit; everything is clear; we are not the ones doing the editing’.

Later, Emir posted about the manipulation on his official X account, saying ‘In order to prevent his reign from collapsing, Erdoğan, who resorts to every kind of lie, this time broadcasted images filmed in Georgia at the AKP Group Meeting, accusing the people of vandalism[...]’.

Historic protests in Turkey

Protests in Turkey began on 19 March following the detention of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu. Later, the court remanded him to pre-trial detention on corruption-related charges, which he has denied.

İmamoğlu, a member of the CHP, was considered one of the most prominent opposition figures and a key rival to Erdoğan in the upcoming Turkish presidential election. The election is scheduled for 2028, although there is also a possibility of early elections.

İmamoğlu was detained a few days before the CHP primaries, where it was expected that he would be chosen as the presidential candidate for the party. His arrest triggered large-scale protests in Istanbul and several other cities across Turkey, which were widely described as the largest protest against Erdoğan’s policies since the 2013 series of demonstrations.

Students actively joined the protests, organising demonstrations near university campuses and marches, as well as declaring a boycott of the educational process.

In addition to Istanbul, clashes occurred between the police and demonstrators in other cities, including the capital Ankara and the third-largest city, Izmir. The police used tear gas, pepper spray, rubber bullets, and water cannons, while the demonstrators who were on the forefront confronted them with fireworks, stones, and other objects during clashes.

Numerous videos circulated on social media, showing police officers using violence against demonstrators, including beating them.

Amnesty International spoke about ‘the use of unnecessary and indiscriminate force’ against protesters, mentioning ‘completely unwarranted police use of force against peaceful demonstrators, with people beaten with batons and kicked when they were on the ground.’

‘The indiscriminate use of pepper spray, tear gas and water cannon, against peaceful protesters is deeply shocking as is the police use of plastic bullets – sometimes fired at close range at the face and upper body – which have caused numerous injuries and even hospitalisations’, The organisation said.

On Thursday, Turkey’s Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced that during the protests, there were 1,879 detentions and 260 arrests. Among those detained were both protesters and journalists.

İmamoğlu won the Istanbul mayoral election for the first time in 2019, ending the AKP’s 25-year rule in Turkey’s largest city. He then won both the re-run election held in the same year—after the results of the first election were annulled by the authorities—and the 2024 vote.

Despite İmamoğlu’s arrest, the CHP still held its primaries across the country on Sunday. According to the party, in the primary, where İmamoğlu was the only candidate, 15 million people participated. The organisers emphasised more than 13 million of those votes were cast in solidarity by the citizens who are not CHP members.

Erdoğan has ruled Turkey for over two decades, initially as prime minister and later as president. Critics have repeatedly accused him of persecuting opponents, restricting media and academic freedoms, as well as exploiting the judicial system for political purposes.

Erdoğan denied these accusations, focusing on the projects implemented in the country during his rule, while often attacking opponents with confrontational rhetoric.

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