A court formally arrested the mayor of Istanbul and key rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday and ordered him jailed pending the outcome of a trial on corruption charges. Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu was detained following a raid on his residence earlier this week, sparking the largest wave of street demonstrations in Turkey in more than a decade. It also deepened concerns over democracy and rule of law in Turkey. His 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 accusations that legal actions against opposition figures are politically motivated and insist that Turkey’s courts operate independently. The formal arrest came as more than 1.5 million members of the opposition Republican People’s Party, or CHP, began holding a primary presidential election to endorse Imamoglu as its presidential candidate. With Imamoglu as the sole candidate, the primary — announced last month — was largely a symbolic show of support. Japan China and South Korea discuss trilateral cooperation The party has also set up symbolic ballot boxes nationwide — called “solidarity boxes” — to allow people who are not party members to express their support to the mayor. “Honestly, we are embarrassed in the name of our legal system,” Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavas, a fellow member of Imamoglu’s CHP, told reporters after casting his vote, criticizing the lack of confidentiality in the proceedings. “We learned from television pundits about the allegations that even lawyers did not have access to, showing how politically motivated this whole ordeal has been,” he said. The Council of Europe, a Europe-wide body that focuses on promoting human rights and democracy slammed the decision to imprison the mayor. “We deplore the decision to place Mayor of Istanbul Ekrem Imamoglu in detention, and demand his immediate release,” said Marc Cools who heads the grouping’s congress of local authorities. Soner Cagaptay, director of the Turkish Research Program at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and an author of a biography of Erdogan, said with Imamoglu’s arrest, Erdogan was taking an extreme measure against his key opponent. “Erdogan is determined to do whatever it takes to end Imamoglu’s career,” he said. “(Imamoglu) beats Erdogan in every imaginable presidential poll.” Cagaptay said the international environment — where the European Union appears keen to maintain Turkey’s favor amid security threats from Russia, and the United States is unconcerned by other countries’ internal affairs — allows Erdogan to proceed without fear of international scrutiny.

Demonstrations erupted across multiple cities in Turkey on Friday in response to the arrest of Istanbul’s mayor, a key opponent of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, despite a stern warning from the Turkish leader against public protests. In Istanbul, security forces used tear gas, rubber bullets, and pepper spray to disperse hundreds of demonstrators attempting to breach barricades near the city’s historic aqueduct. Protesters hurled flares, stones, and other objects at police. Authorities also intervened in protests in Ankara, the capital, and in the coastal city of Izmir, sometimes using force, according to footage aired by private broadcaster Halk TV. Thousands of people marched in various cities, demanding the government step down, the station reported. Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya stated that at least 97 individuals had been detained across the country during the demonstrations. Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu was taken into custody during a dawn raid on his home Wednesday, accused of corruption and links to terrorist groups, further intensifying the government’s crackdown on opposition figures. Several other political figures, including two district mayors, were also arrested. Critics view Imamoglu’s detention as a politically motivated effort to sideline a strong opposition leader ahead of the 2028 presidential election. However, government officials deny any political interference, asserting that Turkey’s judiciary remains independent. Imamoglu spent four hours being questioned by police over corruption allegations, rejecting all accusations, according to Cumhuriyet newspaper and other media. He is expected to be taken to court for further questioning by prosecutors on Saturday evening. Taiwan's leader calls for tougher measures against Chinese spying His arrest has triggered the largest wave of protests in Turkey since 2013, when mass anti-government demonstrations led to the deaths of eight people. Earlier on Friday, Ozgur Ozel, leader of Turkey’s main opposition party, reiterated his call for peaceful demonstrations, while authorities expanded restrictions on protests and criticized his appeal as irresponsible. “I invite tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, and millions, to peacefully demonstrate, express our democratic reaction, and exercise our constitutional rights,” Ozel said. Speaking at a large rally outside city hall, Ozel accused Erdogan of exploiting the judiciary after being unable to defeat Imamoglu “in a fair way.” Erdogan Warns Against Street Protests Erdogan, who has become increasingly authoritarian after more than 20 years in power, stated that the government would not permit street demonstrations and accused the opposition party of ties to corruption and terrorism. “An anti-corruption operation in Istanbul is being used as an excuse to stir unrest in our streets. I want it to be known that we will not allow a handful of opportunists to bring unrest to Turkey just to protect their plundering schemes,” Erdogan said. “Pointing to the streets instead of courtrooms to defend theft, plunder, lawlessness and fraud is a grave irresponsibility,” he added. “Just as we have not surrendered to street terrorism until now, we will not bow to vandalism in the future either.” Authorities in Ankara and Izmir announced a five-day ban on demonstrations Friday, following an earlier restriction imposed in Istanbul. Officials also ordered more road closures in Istanbul and shut down metro stations near a university in Ankara, where violent clashes had taken place the day before.