The popular Imamoglu, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s main political rival, was arrested at dawn on Wednesday, just days before he was to be formally named the candidate for the main opposition CHP party in the 2028 presidential election.
Huge crowds have defied a ban on demonstrations and have gathered outside City Hall for two nights running.
In Ankara, riot police used pepper gas, rubber bullets and water canon to disperse large crowds of protesters who rallied in the Turkish capital, an AFP correspondent said.
He said 16 police officers had been injured, and another 54 people detained for online posts deemed as “incitement to hatred”.
CHP party leader Ozgur Ozel warned Erdogan on Thursday that the opposition planned to keep up its protests, saying: “We will be on the streets from now on. Be afraid of us, the streets are ours, the squares are ours.”
Overnight, Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc denounced those calling the protesters onto the streets.
“Those in positions of responsibility should show more caution in their statements,“ he said, his words echoed by Yerlikaya.
Also overnight, the restrictions on social media and internet access that had been in place since Imamoglu’s arrest appeared to have been lifted, according to EngelliWeb, an internet access monitor.
The move against Imamoglu has sent Turkey’s financial markets into a tailspin, dealing a heavy blow to the Turkish lira.
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