Hundreds of thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators have returned to the streets of Istanbul, Turkey, in support of the city’s jailed mayor.
Ekrem Imamoglu, who is seen as the main political rival to Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was arrested on corruption charges last week, sparking mass protests.
He denies the charges and claims his arrest is politically motivated. Imamoglu is currently being held in solitary confinement in a high security prison on the outskirts of Istanbul.
Saturday’s crowds were so large, they spilled from the site of the protest into a neighbouring park. The chairman of Imamoglu’s Republican People’s Party (CHP) addressed the demonstrators, reading out a letter from the jailed politician.
“I have no fear, you are behind me and by my side. I have no fear because the nation is united. The nation is united against the oppressor,” Reuters reported that the letter said. It was accompanied by an AI-generated video of Imamoglu reading his letter from a jail cell.
Imamoglu’s wife, Dilek, was also at the protest, and told the crowd: “We will keep fighting and fighting.”
Gathered under a cloudless blue sky, the protesters waved Turkey’s red-and-white flags and chanted: “Rights, law, justice!”
Imamoglu has served as Istanbul’s mayor since 2019 and won a resounding victory in mayoral elections last year.
He is widely viewed as the only Turkish politician capable of challenging Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party – also known as AK – at the ballot box.
A series of huge pro-democracy protests have wracked the country since Imamoglu’s arrest earlier this month.
They have also raised concerns that hey will not face a free and fair trial when his case is heard in court.
The government has denied Imamoglu’s arrest was politically motivated and insists the Turkish courts are fully independent.
Erdogan has claimed the protests amount to “street terrorism”, accusing demonstrators of attacking the police and damaging public property.
On some occasions, riot police have attempted to disperse these protest using teargas and rubber bullets.
