Istanbul mayor's arrest ignites widespread protests across Turkey
The Mayor of Istanbul and rival to Erdogan, Ekrem Imamoglu, was officially arrested this morning on charges of corruption, according to Turkish media reports.
The Turkish prosecutor's office has requested the court to detain the Mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu, and four of his associates until the trial in relation to charges of corruption and links to terrorism, as reported by Imamoglu's office early on Sunday morning.
A few hours later, the court granted the prosecutor's request.
Ekrem Imamoglu, the Mayor of Istanbul and a politician from the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), was detained on Wednesday in connection with two cases related to corruption and links to terrorism. Imamoglu strongly denies the charges.
The politician's arrest has sparked a wave of protests in several Turkish cities. Imamoglu is likely to be selected in the CHP primaries on Sunday as the party's candidate for the 2028 presidential elections.
Tens of thousands of demonstrators, responding to the call from Istanbul's mayor and the CHP, also took to the streets of Turkey's largest city on Saturday.
Most of the protesters were young people, although there were many families and older individuals in the crowd as well.
Within the crowd of demonstrators, dozens of people were selling meals, flags, or distributing disposable masks—some demonstrators covered their faces due to fears of tear gas or being recorded by the authorities.
On Friday, approximately 300,000 people participated in demonstrations in Istanbul.
