Large crowds rally as Imamoglu appears in court

Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, a potential challenger to longtime Turkey’s conservative President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, appeared in court on Saturday, charged with corruption and terrorism through alleged links to Kurdish militants.

Turkish prosecutors early on Sunday urged Imamoglu and four aides be jailed on the charges.  

Imamoglu was detained on Wednesday, along with dozens of other prominent figures, including two district mayors.

Public protests have erupted in more than a dozen cities in response to the arrests. Many view Imamoglu’s detention as as a politically-driven attempt to remove one of Erdogan’s key rivals in the next presidential race, scheduled for 2028.

What do we know about Imamoglu’s court appearance?

Imamoglu appeared at the Caglayan courthouse in Istanbul late on Saturday, Turkish television channels reported.

Earlier in the day, the 53-year-old mayor was quizzed by police for five hours. He denounced the accusations against him as “immoral and baseless,” in a statement released by City Hall.

“This process has not only harmed Turkey’s international reputation but has also shattered the public’s sense of justice and trust in the economy,” Imamoglu said. 

News of his arrest badly hurt the Turkish lira and caused chaos in domestic financial markets.

Reuters news agency cited documents showing that Imamoglu had answered at least 70 questions during his police interrogation.

The court decision on whether to release him or jail him pending trial was expected in the early hours of Sunday.

The mayor’s Republican People’s Party (CHP), the main center-left opposition, condemned Imamoglu’s detention and urged supporters to demonstrate lawfully.

Imamoglu was due to be named the CHP’s official presidential candidate for the next election within days.

Fourth night of protests erupts

Huge crowds gathered outside Istanbul City Hall — the fourth night of demonstrations over Imamoglu’s arrest.

Organizers said around 300,000 protesters took part, many waving red Turkish flags and unfurling angry banners reading: “Dictators are cowards!” 

On the fringes of the rally, demonstrators once again clashed with riot police, who fired tear gas, rubber bullets and pepper spray, correspondents from AFP news agency said.

Around 1,000 protesters, meanwhile, gathered outside the Istanbul court where Imamoglu was being questioned by prosecutors,

“Just as people took the streets to stand up for Erdogan after the July 15 (2016) coup, we are now taking to the streets for Imamoglu,” 30-year-old Aykut Cenk told AFP outside the court, adding that he was “the candidate we voted for.”

The authorities barred access to the courthouse using road barricades while shutting nearby metro stations.

Hundreds of police officers and over a dozen water cannon trucks were deployed.

The protests defied a ban on public gatherings in the city by the Istanbul governor’s office, which was extended and tightened on Saturday.

Since Wednesday, the demonstrations have spread to more than 55 of Turkey’s 81 provinces. 

Protesters also clashed with police in the western coastal province of Izmir and the capital Ankara for a third night in a row, with police firing water cannon at the crowds.

Thousands marched in several other cities calling on the government to resign.

What has the Turkish government said?

Government officials have rejected accusations that the legal cases against opposition figures are politically motivated and insist that Turkey’s courts operate independently.

Erdogan on Saturday accused the CHP’s leadership of turning the party “into an apparatus to absolve a handful of municipal robbers who have become blinded by money.”

He also accused the party of “doing everything to disturb the public peace, to polarize the nation.”

Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya posted on social media that 343 suspects had been detained during Friday night’s protests.

Yerlikaya said there would be “no tolerance for those who seek to violate societal order, threaten the people’s peace and security, and pursue chaos and provocation.”