Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption President Erdogan has accused the marchers of supporting terrorism

Hundreds of thousands of people have gathered in Istanbul at the end of a 450km (280-mile) "justice" march against the government of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Large numbers have joined the march since it began in Ankara on 15 June.

Opposition and protest leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu criticised the wave of arrests and imprisonments that followed last year's failed coup.

President Erdogan has accused the marchers of supporting terrorism.

He said the Mr Kilicdaroglu's Republican People's Party (CHP) - which has organised the march - had gone beyond political opposition and was "acting with terrorist organisations and the forces inciting them against our country".

The rally was the biggest show of defiance against President Erdogan since the Gezi Park protests four years ago.

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Organiser Kemal Kilicdaroglu told the rally he was opposed to a "one man regime" but did not support last year's coup

Mr Kilicdaroglu accused the government of taking advantage of the coup attempt on 15 July last year to seize the authority of parliament and pass executive, legislative and judicial powers to one man.

He said the rally marked "a new birth".

"Nobody should think this march is the last one. It's the first step!" he said.

He launched the march after one of his MPs, Enis Berberoglu, was arrested for allegedly leaking documents purporting to show that the government was arming jihadists in Syria.

Mr Berberoglu denies the charge. Sunday's rally drew a sea of people to an area close to the jail in which he is being held.

More than 50,000 people have been arrested and 140,000 dismissed or suspended during a state of emergency in place since last year's attempted military takeover.

Image copyright AFP Image caption Mr Kilicdaroglu was given a rapturous welcome by his supporters in Istanbul

The detentions of human rights activists and leading journalists have drawn international condemnation.

Mr Kilicdaroglu, who has walked around 20km a day for the past three weeks, condemns the coup attempt but says the purges and emergency rule by Mr Erdogan constitute a "second coup".

He told crowds at the rally: "We marched for justice, we marched for the rights of the oppressed. We marched for the MPs in jail. We marched for the arrested journalists.

"We marched for the university academics dismissed from their jobs. We marched because the judiciary is under a political monopoly."

The failed coup last July saw rogue soldiers bombing government buildings and driving tanks into civilians, killing more than 260.

The BBC's Mark Lowen in Istanbul says there is a widespread feeling that the government has seized the chance to crush all opponents, not just alleged coup supporters.</s>ISTANBUL — The leader of Turkey’s main opposition party completed his 25-day “March for Justice” from the capital Ankara to Istanbul Sunday and joined hundreds of thousands of supporters at a rally protesting a large-scale government crackdown on opponents.

Republican People’s Party leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu launched the 450-kilometer (280-mile) march after a parliamentarian from his party was imprisoned in June. The march grew into a protest of the massive crackdown on people with alleged links to terror groups that began after a coup attempt last summer.

“If only there was no need for this march and there was democracy, media freedoms, if civic society groups could freely express their opinions,” Kilicdaroglu told The Associated Press as he headed Friday into the final stretch of his marathon march.

Once seen as feeble in his role as opposition leader, Kilicdaroglu has emerged as the voice of many Turks and been likened to India’s Mahatma Gandhi, who led a nonviolent march against British colonial practices.

Tens of thousands of people have joined Kilicdaroglu throughout his march in scorching heat, chanting “rights, law, justice.” Hundreds of thousands of people greeted Kilicdaroglu while waving Turkish flags and flags emblazoned with the word “justice.”

Organizers said the weeks-long event expressed “a collective, nonpartisan desire for an independent and fair judicial system” that they claim is lacking in Turkey. No party flags or slogans were allowed on the march.

The government has accused Kilicdaroglu of supporting terrorist groups through his protest. Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said he is violating the law by attempting to influence the judiciary.

Turkey’s definition of supporting terror is so broad that it has caused an impasse in the country’s bid for European Union membership.

Parliament member Enis Berberoglu was sentenced last month to 25 years in prison for revealing state secrets, convicted of leaking footage to an opposition newspaper suggesting that Turkey’s intelligence service had smuggled weapons to Islamist rebels in Syria.

In a New York Times op-ed Friday, Kilicdaroglu called the case against Berberoglu “the last straw in a series of antidemocratic moves” by Erdogan’s government “targeting tens of thousands of Turkish citizens — politicians, journalists, academics, activists or ordinary citizens.”

Following last year’s failed coup, the government imposed a state of emergency leading to the arrest of more than 50,000 people and the dismissal of some 100,000 civil servants. A dozen lawmakers from the pro-Kurdish opposition party have also been jailed.

Ordinary citizens, sacked public employees and high-profile figures have joined Kilicdaroglu on his march. Novelist Asli Erdogan and leading Kurdish politician Ahmet Turk, both released from jail pending trial on various terror-related charges, as well as Yonca Sik, the wife of a prominent journalist currently in prison, were just a few.

Istanbul governor Vasip Sahin said 15,000 police officers were providing security at the post-march rally.

The US Consulate issued a security message asking American citizens to exercise caution as “terrorists have targeted political rallies in the past, and that demonstrations and large events intended to be peaceful can turn confrontational and escalate into violence.”</s>The leader of Turkey's main opposition party was on Sunday to address a mass rally in Istanbul at the culmination of an almost month-long march, in a rare challenge to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the leader of the secular Republican People's Party (CHP), launched an unprecedented 450-kilometre (280 mile) trek on June 15 from Ankara to Istanbul in protest the arrest of one of his MPs.

Supporters have compared the trek of the slightly built, mustachioed 69-year-old with Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi's famous Salt March of 1930. But the government has dismissed the march as a bothersome stunt.

Tens of thousands of people are expected to show up for the rally, which could be one of the biggest opposition protests seen in Istanbul since the mass 2013 demonstrations against Erdogan's rule sparked by the planned redevelopment of Gezi Park in the city.

The CHP leader reached the outskirts of Istanbul on Friday and was joined by tens of thousands forming a vast file along the road despite blistering heat.

He was due on Sunday from 5:00 pm (1400 GMT) to walk the final three kilometres alone before joining the waiting crowds at a vast meeting space in the Istanbul district of Maltepe.

"Why do I walk? This 450-kilometre march has one goal: Justice," Kilicdaroglu said ahead of the meeting.

"They ask 'Can we seek justice on the road?' Yes we can. If there are grave injustices and illegalities in your country and if your country's courts are incapable of delivering justice, you will stand up and hit the road," he said in a statement to AFP.

Kilicdaroglu launched the march from Ankara after his party's lawmaker Enis Berberoglu, a former journalist, was sentenced to 25 years in jail on charges of leaking classified information to a newspaper.

The rally ground is near Berberoglu's prison in the Istanbul district of Maltepe.

Carrying simple insignia emblazoned with the word "Justice" without any party slogans, he turned the march into a protest for those who feel unfairly treated in Turkey under Erdogan.

Kilicdaroglu has said he wants no party insignia, only "Justice" slogans and pictures of modern Turkey's founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk at the Maltepe rally.

Preparations were in full swing for the rally, with a vast stage set up with the Turkish word "Adalet" (Justice) plastered in giant letters across the top.

About 50,000 people have been arrested under Turkey's state of emergency imposed after last July's failed coup and another 100,000 have lost their jobs, including teachers, judges, soldiers and police officers.

Kilicdaroglu has strongly condemned the failed coup bid -- blamed US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen, who denies the charges -- but has been bitterly critical of the scope of the state of emergency.

In the latest crackdown, Turkish police on Wednesday detained Amnesty International's Turkey director and other activists on charges of membership in a terror group sparking a new uproar among rights advocates.

The opposition chief has dressed every day modestly in a white shirt, dark trousers, with a hat to protect him from the sun. He rested at night in a caravan.

"He is surprisingly vigorous," his party's Istanbul lawmaker Sezgin Tanrikulu told AFP.

The government has regarded the justice march with disdain.

Erdogan has accused Kilicdaroglu's party of siding with terrorism while Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said Friday: "(The march) has started to become boring. This should come to an end after the rally."

The authorities have not impeded the walk's progress, with police providing security every day.

Istanbul governor Vasip Sahin said 15,000 police had been assigned to assure security at the Maltepe meeting.

Turkish police this week detained six suspected members of the Islamic State extremist group planning a bomb attack on the march. But the CHP said it was a routine operation, and was not related to the justice march.</s>Opposition leader began march 25 days ago to protest an MP's conviction for revealing state secrets and other arrests.

Turkish main opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu is preparing to hold a mass rally in Istanbul, marking the end of his 450km protest march from capital Ankara to the metropolis.

He started the "March for Justice" 25 days ago in protest of the conviction of Enis Berberoglu, an MP with his Republican People’s Party (CHP), and other recent arrests in Turkey.

Kilicdaroglu has been followed by thousands of supporters along the way, including CHP deputies.

Berberoglu was sentenced to 25 years in prison last month for allegedly revealing state secrets to journalists on the transportation of arms to Syria.

Kilicdaroglu said in an opinion article published in the New York Times on Friday that his supporters and he were marching for "democracy, justice and freedom from fear and authoritarian rule in Turkey".

He wrote: "If democracy and rule of law are suspended, if people are afraid to freely express their views, if legislators are in prison rather than in the parliament, if the courts are incapable of serving justice, we stand up and call for justice with our words, with our bodies on the streets."

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently slammed the march, saying that the CHP is collaborating with "terrorist" groups and forces that incite such groups against Turkey.

"If you are launching a march for terrorists and for their supporters, something which you have never thought about doing against terrorist groups, you can convince no one that your aim is justice," he said.

"This situation, which anyone who in their right mind can see clearly, is part of traps set up in Syria, Iraq, the Gulf, and Europe against our country," he added.

On the 25th day of his march, Kilicdaroglu is expected to walk from the neighbourhood of Dragos to Maltepe in Istanbul, where he will hold a rally that his party says it expects over a million people to attend.

Berberoglu was convicted of revealing state secrets by passing images to a newspaper appearing to show the search of National Intelligence Organisation (MIT) trucks en route to Syria in January 2014.

He is the first CHP deputy to be imprisoned in recent years, while mass arrests have targeted MPs of the pro-Kurdish People’s Democracy Party (HDP) in recent months, including its leaders.

Turkey has been in a state of emergency after a coup attempt last summer which killed around 300 people and led to arrests and purges targeting tens of thousands of civil servants as well as journalists and opposition activists.</s>Turkey's opposition leader will step up his challenge to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday when he addresses a mass rally at the end of an almost one month-long "justice" march from Ankara to Istanbul.

Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the leader of the secular Republican People's Party (CHP), launched an unprecedented 450-kilometer (280 mile) trek on June 15 in Ankara in protest at the arrest of one of his MPs.

Supporters compared the trek with Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi's famous Salt March of 1930 but the government has dismissed it as a bothersome stunt.

Carrying a simple insignia emblazoned with the word "Justice" without any party slogans, Kilicdaroglu initiated the march after his party's lawmaker Enis Berberoglu, a former journalist, was sentenced to 25 years in jail on charges of leaking classified information to a newspaper.

"Why do I walk? This 450-kilometer march has one goal: Justice," said the CHP leader, who reached Istanbul on Friday and was joined by tens of thousands forming a vast file along the road despite blistering heat.

"They ask 'Can we seek justice on the road?' Yes we can. If there are grave injustices and illegalities in your country and if your country's courts are incapable of delivering justice, you will stand up and hit the road," he said in a statement to AFP.

"That's what I am doing now. I have one motto: JUSTICE."

About 50,000 people have been arrested under Turkey's state of emergency, imposed after last July's failed coup, and another 100,000 have lost their jobs, including teachers, judges, soldiers and police officers.

In the latest crackdown, Turkish police on Wednesday detained Amnesty International's Turkey director and other activists on charges of membership in a terror group, which sparked uproar among human rights advocates.

Thousands of people are expected to show up for the rally, which could be one of the biggest opposition protests seen in Istanbul since the mass 2013 demonstrations against Erdogan's rule.

Kilicdaroglu, who will address his followers in a mass rally near Berberoglu's prison in the Istanbul district of Maltepe, will on Sunday walk the final section of the march alone.

"I will walk to the rally ground alone," he told reporters.

"I do not want anything in the rally apart from (Turkish) flags, Justice banners and (Turkey's founder) Ataturk's posters," he said.

The opposition chief rested at nights in a caravan throughout his journey, and witnesses said the 69-year-old was walking quite fast.

"He is surprisingly vigorous," his party's Istanbul lawmaker Sezgin Tanrikulu told AFP.

Commenting on his eating habits, he said Kilicdaroglu "never has heavy meals."

The government has regarded the justice march with disdain.

Erdogan has accused Kilicdaroglu's party of siding with terrorism while Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said Friday: "(The march) has started to become boring. This should come to an end after the rally."

Authorities, however, have not impeded the walk's progress, with police providing security every day.

Turkish police this week detained six suspected members of the Islamic State extremist group planning a bomb attack on the march. But the CHP said it was a routine operation, and was not related to the justice march.

The leader of the Nationalist Movement Party, Devlet Bahceli, warned his party supporters against any provocation and said his party's offices on the march route would be closed Saturday and Sunday.</s>ISTANBUL -- The leader of Turkey's main opposition party completed a 25-day "March for Justice" on Sunday and joined hundreds of thousands of supporters at a rally against a large-scale government crackdown on opponents.

Republican People's Party leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu launched the 280-mile march from the capital, Ankara, to Istanbul after a parliamentarian from his party was imprisoned in June. The march grew into a protest of the clampdown on people whom Turkey accuses of having links to terror groups.

"Why did we march?" Kilicdaroglu said while addressing rallygoers. "We walked for the nonexistent justice. We walked for the rights of the oppressed, for the imprisoned lawmakers, the jailed journalists. ... We walked for the academics who were thrown out of universities."

Tens of thousands of people joined Kilicdaroglu throughout his march in scorching heat, chanting "rights, law, justice." Hundreds of thousands greeted him at the Istanbul rally while waving Turkish flags and flags emblazoned with the word "justice."

"No one should think the end of this march is the end. This march was our first step," Kilicdaroglu said. "July 9 is a new step. July 9 is a new climate. July 9 is a new history."

The opposition leader called on judges and prosecutors to act independently and according to their "conscience" instead of in line with the wishes of "the palace" -- a reference to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Kilicdaroglu also called for an end to a state of emergency that was declared after a failed coup attempt last summer. The emergency declaration has allowed the government to rule by decrees, with minimal input from parliament.

"We want the state of emergency to be removed and for Turkey to normalize," Kilicdaroglu said. "We want politics kept out of the judiciary, the [army] barracks and of mosques. We want a neutral and independent justice. We want a Turkey where journalists are not jailed."

Organizers said the weekslong event expressed "a collective, nonpartisan desire for an independent and fair judicial system" that they claim is lacking in Turkey. The Republican People's Party did not allow party flags or slogans during the march because it wanted the event to be nonpartisan.

Party officials said more than a million people attended the closing rally.

"There is no justice," said Muhammer Dogan, 64, who joined the rally.

"Innocent people are being imprisoned. They are being victimized."

The government has accused Kilicdaroglu of supporting terrorist groups through his protest. Erdogan has said Kilicdaroglu is violating the law by attempting to influence the judiciary.

Turkey's definition of supporting terror is so broad that it has caused an impasse in the country's bid for European Union membership.

Parliament member Enis Berberoglu was sentenced last month to 25 years in prison for revealing state secrets after the government accused him of leaking footage to an opposition newspaper suggesting that Turkey's intelligence service had smuggled weapons to Islamist rebels in Syria.

The state of emergency has led to the arrest of more than 50,000 people and the dismissal of about 100,000 civil servants. A dozen lawmakers from the pro-Kurdish opposition party have also been jailed.

Ordinary citizens, sacked public employees and high-profile figures have joined Kilicdaroglu on his march. They included novelist Asli Erdogan and leading Kurdish politician Ahmet Turk, both released from jail pending trial on terror-related charges, as well as Yonca Sik, the wife of a prominent journalist currently in prison.

Istanbul Gov. Vasip Sahin said 15,000 police officers were providing security at the post-march rally.

Information for this article was contributed by Suzan Fraser and Neyran Elden of The Associated Press.</s>The leader of Turkey's main opposition party completed a 25-day "March for Justice" from the capital Ankara to Istanbul, June 9, and joined hundreds of thousands of supporters at a rally against a large-scale government crackdown on opponents.

Republican People's Party leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu launched the 450-kilometre march after a parliamentarian from his party was imprisoned in June.

The march grew into a protest of the massive clampdown on people with alleged links to terror groups that began after a coup attempt last summer.

"Why did we march?" Kilicdaroglu said while addressing the rally.

"We walked for the non-existent justice. We walked for the rights of the oppressed, for the imprisoned lawmakers, the jailed journalists. We walked for the academics who were thrown out of universities."

Once seen as feeble in his role as opposition leader, Kilicdaroglu has emerged as the voice of many Turks and been likened to India's Mahatma Gandhi, who led a nonviolent march against British colonial practices.

Hundreds of thousands greeted him at the Istanbul rally, while waving Turkish flags and flags emblazoned with the word "justice."

"No one should think the end of this march is the end. This march was our first step," Kilicdaroglu said.

"July 9 is a new step. July 9 is a new climate. July 9 is a new history."

The opposition leader called on judges and prosecutors to act independently and according to their "conscience" instead of in line with the wishes of "the palace" — a reference to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

He also called for an end to a state of emergency that was declared following the failed coup and which has allowed the government to rule by decrees, with minimal input from parliament.</s>ISTANBUL (AP) — The leader of Turkey’s main opposition party completed his 25-day “March for Justice” from the capital Ankara to Istanbul Sunday and joined hundreds of thousands of supporters at a rally against a large-scale government crackdown on opponents.

Republican People’s Party leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu launched the 450-kilometer (280-mile) march after a parliamentarian from his party was imprisoned in June. The march grew into a protest of the massive clampdown on people with alleged links to terror groups that began after a coup attempt last summer.

“Why did we march?” Kilicdaroglu said addressing the rally. “We walked for the non-existent justice. We walked for the rights of the oppressed, for the imprisoned lawmakers, the jailed journalists… We walked for the academics who were thrown out of universities.”

Once seen as feeble in his role as opposition leader, Kilicdaroglu has emerged as the voice of many Turks and been likened to India’s Mahatma Gandhi, who led a nonviolent march against British colonial practices.

Tens of thousands of people joined Kilicdaroglu throughout his march in scorching heat, chanting “rights, law, justice.” Hundreds of thousands greeted him at the Istanbul rally, while waving Turkish flags and flags emblazoned with the word “justice.”

“No one should think the end of this march is the end. This march was our first step,” Kilicdaroglu said. “July 9 is a new step. July 9 is a new climate. July 9 is a new history.”

The opposition leader called on judges and prosecutors to act independently and according to their “conscience” instead of in line with the wishes of “the palace” — a reference to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

He also called for an end to a state of emergency that was declared following the failed coup and which has allowed the government to rule by decrees, with minimal input from parliament.

“We want the state of emergency to be removed and for Turkey to normalize,” Kilicdaroglu said. “We want politics kept out of the judiciary, the (army) barracks and of mosques. We want a neutral and independent justice. We want a Turkey where journalists are not jailed.”

Organizers said the weekslong event expressed “a collective, nonpartisan desire for an independent and fair judicial system” that they claim is lacking in Turkey. The Republican People’s Party did not allow party flags or slogans during the march because it wanted the event to be non-partisan.

Party officials said more than a million people attended the closing rally.

“There is no justice,” Muhammer Dogan, 64, who joined the rally, said. “Innocent people are being imprisoned. They are being victimized.”

The government has accused Kilicdaroglu of supporting terrorist groups through his protest. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said he is violating the law by attempting to influence the judiciary.

Turkey’s definition of supporting terror is so broad that it has caused an impasse in the country’s bid for European Union membership.

Parliament member Enis Berberoglu was sentenced last month to 25 years in prison for revealing state secrets for allegedly leaking footage to an opposition newspaper suggesting that Turkey’s intelligence service had smuggled weapons to Islamist rebels in Syria.

The state of emergency has led to the arrest of more than 50,000 people and the dismissal of some 100,000 civil servants. A dozen lawmakers from the pro-Kurdish opposition party have also been jailed.

Ordinary citizens, sacked public employees and high-profile figures have joined Kilicdaroglu on his march. Novelist Asli Erdogan and leading Kurdish politician Ahmet Turk, both released from jail pending trial on various terror-related charges, as well as Yonca Sik, the wife of a prominent journalist currently in prison, were just a few.

Istanbul governor Vasip Sahin said 15,000 police officers were providing security at the post-march rally.

The U.S. Consulate issued a security message asking American citizens to exercise caution as “terrorists have targeted political rallies in the past, and that demonstrations and large events intended to be peaceful can turn confrontational and escalate into violence.”

Associated Press writers Suzan Fraser in Ankara and Neyran Elden in Istanbul contributed.</s>Tens of thousands of people converged on the Turkish city of Istanbul at the end of a 450km (280-mile) protest march against the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Huge crowds have joined the "justice" march since it began in the capital Ankara on 15 June.</s>ISTANBUL — The leader of the main opposition party in Turkey is set to complete the final stretch of a 25-day “March for Justice” from the capital Ankara to Istanbul.

Republican People’s Party leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu launched the 425-kilometre (265 miles) march after a parliamentarian was imprisoned in June, but the outcry has since grown to protest the massive crackdown that began after last summer’s failed coup attempt.

Tens of thousands of people have joined Kilicdaroglu on his march in scorching heat, chanting “rights, law, justice.” Kilicdaroglu will walk the final leg alone and end the march Sunday with a mass rally in Istanbul.

Istanbul governor Vasip Sahin said 15,000 police officers have been dispatched for security. The U.S. Consulate issued a security message asking American citizens to exercise caution.
The 450 km-long Turkish March for Justice concludes in Istanbul at a mass rally attended by hundreds of thousands of people.