Viral video: Catch a Pikachu! Pokemon seen fleeing protests against President Erdogan rival’s arrest

Time to catch a Pikachu! No, because it has fled!

A protestor dressed as Pikachu was seen fleeing protests against the arrest of the political rival of Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The protestor dressed as the Pokemon character was first seen marching with the other protesters and later fleeing when the security forces started to launch water cannons at them.

A video of a Pikachu fleeing the protests is now going viral on social media.

Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu was arrested and jailed pending trial for graft on Sunday. His arrest prompted the largest anti-government protests in a decade and led to mass arrests across the country. Ekrem Imamoglu faces charges related to corruption and “supporting terrorism” along with some 90 other suspects.

As many as 1,900 people were arrested since the protests erupted last Wednesday. At least 250 have been jailed; 489 were released and 662 others were still being processed. A total of 150 police officers were injured in the protests.

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Meanwhile, Recep Tayyip Erdogan has blamed the political opposition for "wrecking the economy" as mass protests—the largest in over a decade—erupted over the arrest of Istanbul’s mayor, Erdogan’s strongest rival in his 22-year rule.

The opposition has called for a boycott of companies that it says support Erdogan’s government. The Turkish president accused the opposition of being “so desperate that they would throw the country and the nation into the fire.”

Turkey's broadcasting watchdog RTUK has also banned broadcast on Opposition TV channel Sozcu for 10 days.It claims that through its broadcast, the Opposition channel was inciting protests against the government.

In a statement, RTUK said, “The broadcaster... was given a 10-day broadcast suspension,” for offences linked to incitement of “hatred and hostility”.

(With agency inputs)