Turkish police used tear gas to seize headquarters of opposition party CHP

(Patria) - Hundreds of Turkish riot police, firing tear gas, stormed the headquarters of the main opposition party in Ankara on Sunday, days after a court removed its leadership, AFP journalists saw.

The dramatic clashes were the latest episode in Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's crackdown on his political rivals, who fiercely resisted on the streets, AFP reported.

Party members had blocked the entrances to the building, defying a court order issued on Thursday as part of an official investigation against the Republican People's Party (CHP), before police broke in to remove the group's leader.

"They stormed our headquarters, used tear gas, beat us with batons, searched the party (building) and threw us out," Ozel told AFP on Sunday evening.

He said his rival Erdogan had "lost his mind," claiming the raid was part of the president's maneuvers "to win the next elections," which were scheduled for 2028.

Last year, Turkish authorities jailed Erdogan's main political rival, Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, who was the CHP's candidate for the 2028 presidential election.

He was arrested on corruption charges that he dismissed as politically motivated.

A court order on Thursday annulled the victory of CHP Chairman Ozgur Ozel in the 2023 party elections and appointed its former chairman Kemal Kilicdaroglu, who suffered a series of electoral defeats, as interim leader.

"Just as (Erdogan) jailed the presidential candidate who could have beaten him, he has now officially jailed the political party that could have beaten him," Ozel told AFP.

Human rights group warning

Expelled from the party building, Ozel walked for several kilometers in the rain towards parliament, surrounded by supporters.

"The Republican People's Party will be on the streets or squares from now on," he said. Later, in comments to AFP, he added: "Turkey has ceased to be a modern democratic republic and has turned into an authoritarian regime."

Kilicdaroglu's supporters had earlier tried to force their way into the party headquarters, before police were ordered to intervene and seize the building.

Last year, similar scenes erupted in Istanbul, when courts appointed an administrator to take charge of CHP's regional offices.

Global non-governmental organization Human Rights Watch warned on Saturday that Erdogan's government was undermining Turkish democracy with "abusive tactics" against the CHP.

It called the court order "the latest deeply damaging blow to the rule of law, democracy and human rights" in Turkey.