Thousands attended a rally in Istanbul organised by Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) against the arrest of the city's mayor Ekrem Imamoglu on Saturday (March 29), Reuters reports.
Imamoglu, from the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) is President Tayyip Erdogan's main political rival.
Imamoglu, who leads Erdogan in some polls, was jailed pending trial over allegations of graft on Sunday (March 23), provoking the largest anti-government protests in more than a decade, which have led to mass arrests nationwide.
The CHP, other opposition parties, rights groups and Western powers have all said the case against Imamoglu is a politicized effort to eliminate a potential electoral threat to Erdogan.
The government denies any influence over the judiciary and says the courts are independent.
