19 Jun 2013

Dozens held in raids by Turkish police

5:59 am on 19 June 2013

Police raided addresses across Turkey on Tuesday and detained dozens of people after nearly three weeks of anti-government protests.

State media TRT said 25 people were detained in the capital Ankara, 13 in Eskisehir to the west and "many" more in Istanbul.

Turkey has been rocked by demonstrations that began around Taksim Square, Istanbul, on 29 May, which turned violent after police sought to clear protesters using teargas and water cannon.

Clashes have since erupted in cities across the country, as people protest against Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan.

Mr Erdogan pursued radical social reforms in his first years in office broadening ethnic Kurdish rights and curbing the power of the army.

He has won three successive elections, the last was achieved with 50% support.

But critics accuse him of disregarding the half of the population who did not vote for him and conniving to subvert the secular constitution - which he denies.