Tens of thousands of protesters have taken part in nationwide protests across Turkey after the country's main rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was arrested and charged with corruption. Ekrem Imamoglu, the mayor of Istanbul, was set to be chosen as the Republican People's Party's (CHP) presidential candidate for 2028 in a vote on Sunday.
In response to his arrest, Sunday evening saw an escalation of the worst riots the country has seen in more than a decade, with protesters being shot with tear gas and rubber bullets, A2 CNN reports.
Imamoglu said the charges against him were politically motivated. "I will never bow down," he wrote on X before being released from custody.
Erdogan has condemned the demonstrations and accused the CHP of trying to "disturb the peace and polarize our people."
Crowds gathered near Istanbul's city hall on Sunday evening for the fifth night of protests and could be seen waving Turkish flags, cheering in front of a line of police, writes A2 CNN.
Officers were seen firing water cannons at some protesters and using pepper spray.
Imamoglu's wife, Dilek Kaya Imamoglu, addressed large crowds outside the city hall, telling demonstrators that the "injustice" her husband has faced "has struck every conscience."
The protests in response to Imamoglu's arrest are the largest the country has seen since the 2013 Gezi protests, which began in Istanbul over the demolition of a local park, a2 CNN reports.
In total, rallies took place in at least 55 of Turkey's 81 provinces, or more than two-thirds of the country, according to a report by the French news agency AFP.
Imamoglu was one of more than 100 people, including other politicians, journalists and businessmen, arrested as part of an investigation on Wednesday.
He was formally arrested on Sunday and charged with "establishing and leading a criminal organization, accepting bribes, extortion, illegal recording of personal data and tender manipulation."
He has been remanded in custody pending trial. AFP and local media reported that he had been taken to a prison in Silivri.
Imamoglu has also been suspended from his post as mayor, Turkey's interior ministry said in a statement. (A2 Televizion)
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