Turkey's main opposition party set off on a 425-kilometer (265 mile) march on Thursday from the capital to an İstanbul prison to protest the conviction of one of its lawmakers. Thousands began walking from Ankara, with police at the scene.
The leader of Republican People's Party, Kemal Kılıçdaroglu, called the "march for justice" after parliamentarian Enis Berberoğlu was convicted and sentenced to 25 years for revealing state secrets. Berberoğlu, former chief-in-editor of daily Hürriyet and lawmaker, was accused of giving journalists footage that showed local authorities searching Syria-bound trucks allegedly carrying mortar rounds and getting into a standoff with Turkish intelligence officials. Turkish leaders denied supporting jihadists and said the trucks contained aid to Turkmens in Syria. Before the footage, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the government had denied accusations that weapons were sent to jihadist in Syria, saying the trucks were carrying humanitarian aid.
Kılıçdaroğlu marched at the head the column surrounded by his own security detail, still clutching the "justice" sign and waving at the crowds.
He planned to cover up to 20 kilometres a day, stopping on the way, in what promises to be an epic trek.
Many people held banners, waved Turkish flags and wore T-shirts emblazoned with the word "Justice". Others carried posters of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the modern Republic of Turkey, and the CHP.
Protesters chanted "shoulder to shoulder against fascism". Hundreds also held a protest at İstanbul's Maçka Park on the European side of the city, chanting "we will win through resistance".
Berberoğlu is the first legislator from the CHP to be imprisoned since a constitutional amendment stripped parliamentary immunities last year. A dozen pro-Kurdish lawmakers are already in prison for allegedly supporting terror.
