Huge crowds protest jailing of Erdogan rival in Turkey

Hundreds of thousands of opposition supporters gathered outside Istanbul city hall last night to protest the arrest of the city's mayor.

- KIRSTEN GRIESHABER

A court formally arrested mayor Ekrem Imamoglu a key rival to Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan earlier yesterday and jailed him pending the outcome of a trial on corruption charges.

His earlier detention on Wednesday morning sparked the largest wave of street demonstrations in Turkey in more than a decade, with large crowds gathering outside city hall for the fifth night in a row. It also deepened concerns over democracy and the rule of law in Turkey.

Yesterday’s imprisonment is widely regarded as a political move to remove a major contender from the next presidential race, currently scheduled for 2028.

Government officials reject the accusations and insist that Turkey's courts operate independently.

“If you weren’t here today, if you hadn’t rushed here since the first day, if you had yielded to tear gas and barricades, if you had gotten scared and remained at home, then today a caretaker appointed by Tayyip Erdogan would be residing here in this building,” said Ozgur Ozel last night, pointing at city hall as he spoke to the massive crowd chanting anti-government slogans.

Ozel is the head of the Republican People's Party, or CHP, to which Imamoglu belongs.

The prosecutor’s office said the court decided to jail Mr Imamoglu on suspicion of running a criminal organisation, accepting bribes, extortion, illegally recording personal data and bid-rigging.