ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Four Turkish channels were handed a 10-day suspension on Thursday, as authorities intensify crackdown on media coverage amid nationwide protests prompted by Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu’s arrest.

Turkey's Radio and Television Supreme Council announced on Thursday that “broadcast suspension for 10 days were imposed,” on four TV channels: SZC TV, Tele1, Halk TV and NOW TV, on grounds of “inviting people to the streets and calling for riots.”

In addition to the suspension, the council also banned the broadcasts of some of the channels’ programs and handed out fines to the networks.

The BBC on Thursday reported that a correspondent of the network was “deported from Turkey after being arrested in Istanbul on Wednesday.”

The suspensions mark the latest in a series of measures taken by Turkish authorities to suppress media coverage since one of Turkey’s largest protests in recent years took the country by storm on March 19.

At least eleven journalists were arrested by Turkish police between Sunday and Monday, according to the Turkey-based Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA).

Release orders were issued for three of the journalists Thursday, after MLSA filed appeals on their behalf, the rights watchdog said, adding that seven of the others were set to be released earlier on Tuesday but were referred back to court after an appeal by the prosecutor’s office.

An AFP journalist and six others were detained on Tuesday on charges of “taking part in illegal rallies and marches.” The agency announced on Thursday that their correspondent and the others had been released, adding however that the charges against them had not been dropped, citing their lawyer as saying.

Social media platform X said on Monday that they “object to” several court orders from the Turkish Information and Communication Technologies Authority to block 700 X accounts of “news organizations, journalists, political figures, students, and others” within Turkey.

Since the eruption of the demonstrations over a week ago, at least 1,870 people have been detained in Turkey, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said in an X post on Thursday.

Imamoglu, who will be the main rival of current Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for the upcoming presidential elections, was detained by security forces on March 19 on multiple charges including bribery, extortion, money laundering, and aiding the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).  Imamoglu was stripped of his title days later and transferred to prison.

The protests are expected to continue and the number of detainees to rise as Turkey’s Republican People's Party (CHP) - Imamoglu’s party - organizes gatherings to challenge the deposed mayor’s arrest, while Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) attempts to bring the unrest, described by the Turkish president as “street terror,” under control.