Court jails Erdogan rival pending trial in corruption charges

A Turkish court on Sunday jailed President Tayyip Erdogan's main political rival, Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, pending trial on graft charges, in a move likely to stoke the country's biggest protests against the government in more than a decade.

- Reuters [e-mail]

ISTANBUL:

The decision to send Imamoglu to jail comes after the main opposition party, European leaders and tens of thousands of protesters criticised the actions against him as politicised and undemocratic.

Imamoglu has denied the charges, calling them "unimaginable accusations and slanders". "I am standing tall, I will never bow down," Imamoglu said on X, calling on supporters not to lose hope. "We will rip away this coup, this dark stain on our democracy all together."