On March 23, when police arrived at the door of Yasin Akgul in Istanbul – his children were still in bed. Just a few hours ago, Turkish photojournalists had returned home from massive anti-government protests. Now he is the one he wants.

“I went to the door and saw a lot of police officers,” he said. “They said they had an arrest warrant for me, but didn’t give me any details. My son woke up and I couldn’t even tell him what was going on because I didn’t get it myself.”

Akgul, 35, has been a photographer for AFP News for more than a decade – from war-torn Syria to controlled Iraq. He said he was beaten several times by police while taking pictures, including on World Peace Day, and was detained “many times”.

But being arrested at home was the first one.

“The chill in the house fell on the house,” he told us. “I saw a lot of violence and tear gas at my work, but I felt even more scared when I put the police in my home.”

Akgul was one of seven journalists arrested in the dawn raid. All are covering up protests sparked by the city’s opposition mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, a major political rival to Türkiye’s long-time leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Protesters say he denied the mayor’s arrest on allegations of corruption, which was politically motivated – trying to end his hopes of becoming the country’s next president.

Authorities banned the protests but could not stop them.

Akgul faces allegations of “participating in illegal gatherings and parades.” The goal is clear, he said – to stop others from taking pictures of Türkiye’s biggest turbulent in more than a decade.

When he took some of the most iconic images of the night, he fell into a thick smell – a gas mask.

His pictures show a man in a whirlwind dress (a dancing mystic) radiating by a series of riot police officers – a striking image shocking an image of a fight for the Turkish soul, then dropping him in a bar.

“This information is for all journalists,” he said. “Don’t shoot (take pictures), don’t talk, don’t shoot. They scare other journalists if they go back to the fields, they might face the same thing.” He believes that the fact that he works for the International News Agency AFP makes the information bigger.

It has been received and understood.

“After we were arrested, many freelance journalists were unable to shoot the next day. Everyone was scared.” He told us, sitting on his couch with his wife Hazal beside him.

Their three-year-old daughter, Ipek, was lying on the sofa, holding her father’s hand. Their son, Umut, eight-year-old, wore a Harry Potter-style hat and glasses.

Akgul believes the arrested were carefully selected – including experienced photojournalists. “They are trying to evacuate us from the front line,” he said.

Many of his friends – companions – journalists – have left themselves and left Türkiye because they face charges or fears that they will.

For now, his family is here to worry that they might be torn apart by the court. The government says the judiciary is independent. Human rights groups say that under political control, Turkish democracy is eroding year by year.

President Erdogan has many loyal supporters who maintain strict control over power leverage. He said the protests were “street terrorism” and accused opposing leadership of the “violent movement.” He has predicted a decrease in demonstrations.

perhaps. Maybe not.

On the morning of March 27, when Yasin Akgul was released from prison, BBC’s Mark Lowen was detained for 17 hours and was deported from Istanbul. He got the document saying he was a “threat to public order.”

Authorities later said – after the BBC reported the story, he was deported due to lack of certification.

Not only dangerous journalists. One of the mayor’s own lawyers was briefly detained, according to a social media post sent from his cell in a high security prison.

His legal team struggled, but they also felt cold.

“I think the right to defend is sacred. It’s part of a fair trial that your attorney feels comfortable and safe,” said ECE Guner, both the attorney and the mayor’s counsel.

“To be honest, no one is worried, but we still feel that we have a responsibility to speak the truth and uphold democracy and the rule of law.”

Where is Turkish democracy standing now? Some people worry that this is the last time they breathe.

Over the past two weeks or so — since protests began on March 19 — about 2,000 people have been detained, according to the Turkish Ministry of Interior.

Many of them are students and members of the Erdogan generation – those who only know the 22-year rule of Türkiye’s long-standing leader. The arrest sent another message.

“This is a huge warning for young people – don’t get involved,” said Emma Sinclair-Webb, director of Turkish Human Rights Watch.

She said the government also “slammed in all directions of opposition” in any quarter, not just the mayor’s Republican Party (CHP), the main opposition party here.

“Public institutions are threatened,” she said. “If they speak out loud and use authoritative voices, they will try to kill them immediately.”

She expects continued restrictions on protests in the coming months and “make them invisible”.

This is not difficult considering the widespread control of the media here. The huge demonstrations held so far have not led the announcement on state television and pro-government channels, and when they are shown, protesters are called terrorists.

Recent Rally – Last Weekend – At least hundreds of thousands of people. The opposition claimed more than 2 million people attended the meeting.

Some families have brought generations to listen to the call for change in the warm sunshine. We saw the usual heavy police presence, but this time there was no tear gas or rubber bullets. This gathering was not banned.

In the crowd, we met 32-year-old ALP who said he came to defend democracy when he still had time. We did not ask for last name-many protesters would rather not give them. He said he was concerned about the risk of arrest.

“The police are collecting students, women and workers like us,” he said.

“So we are all in danger right now. But we have to stand up. This is our only choice. If we don’t do anything, if we just watch, the battle is lost.”

Opposition is expected to keep protests and campaigns in the streets. Starting from 2028, an urgent meeting of the presidential election.

Opposition polls show that President Erdogan will lose Imamoglu if he is released and able to run as a candidate.

The president himself shouldn’t be able to run – because he’s already in his second term – but there are speculations here that he can try to change the constitution.

The opposition insists that from now on, protests will be held every week. If so, it seems that the arrest will continue.

It is not clear whether Yasin Akgul’s case will be tried, but the charges against him remain. Despite the danger, he hopes to continue telling stories here.

“Someone needs to do this work, and I think I’m one of them,” he said.