In Turkey, authoritarian president faces burgeoning protests

As hundreds of thousands of protesters gathered Saturday in Istanbul for the largest demonstration against President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in over a decade, one young woman explained why the mood was so fervent.

This is Turkey’s last chance to save its weakening democracy, says Dilara, a psychology student who preferred not to give her full name. “We are here for our freedom,” she says. “We don’t want to become Iran or Iraq. We’re trying to save our country.”

The protests broke out March 19, when police arrested the popular mayor of Istanbul and Mr. Erdoğan’s chief rival, Ekrem Imamoglu. The opposition leader was charged with corruption, just as he was about to be nominated as the presidential candidate for the Republican People’s Party (CHP) in elections due in 2028.