A court in Turkey has ordered Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu to remain in prison until his trial begins, Turkish media reported.
Imamoglu was arrested earlier this week on charges of corruption and aiding a terrorist group. Mass protests have since taken place in more than 10 Turkish cities, including Istanbul and Ankara.
Members of Turkey’s opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) are voting in party elections today, and Imamoglu is expected to be chosen as a candidate in the next presidential election.
The Istanbul mayor has denied the charges.
The CHP, which has more than 1.5 million members, has set up 5,600 ballot boxes in 81 Turkish provinces.
The next elections are scheduled for 2028.
Four days after the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, new mass protests were organized in the city, led by the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP).
According to Turkish media, hundreds of thousands of citizens gathered in Saraçane Square despite the ban on gatherings.
Opposition parties and unions, including the People’s Equality and Democracy Party (DEM) and the Turkish Workers’ Party (TİP), are also attending the rally in Saraçane.
At exactly 9 p.m., CHP leader Özgür Özel addressed the citizens and said that this was not a party rally, but a rally of all citizens.
“We are not coming to Saraçane to hold a rally, but to get a result. Let’s say this to Mr. Tayyip Erdogan, who knows how to talk about football and who says ‘I am a football player’; Ekrem Imamoglu beat Erdogan in all four matches and sent him to the relegation zone,” the CHP leader said.
He said that the bans on gatherings cannot prevent citizens from going out.
“You banned demonstrations and marches in Istanbul for five days and said, ‘those who try will be dispersed’… Mr. Tayyip, there were 120 thousand people in this square on the first night. You said ‘Not tomorrow’, last night there were 160 thousand people in this square. While you were watching TV yesterday, you broke the remote control in your hand, threw it on the ground, threw it!”, he said.
He also stated that 300,000 citizens gathered at the rally on Saturday evening.
“Democrats are not afraid of the square, dictators are afraid of the square. Erdogan, if you are afraid of this square, you are a dictator too,” he concluded.
