A Turkish court declared pre-trial detention for the mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu - the main political rival of Recep Tayyip Erdogan - on corruption charges, amidst widespread mobilizations over his arrest that have spread throughout the country.
The ruling refers to one of the corruption investigations against the mayor, and at least twenty other individuals from his circle - mostly municipality officials - have also been imprisoned. Judges still have to decide whether to also order detention on terrorism charges. If confirmed, the decision could pave the way for the municipality's intervention and the imposition of a trustee, a measure that has been taken in at least twelve municipalities in the past year.
Minutes after the mayor's imprisonment was announced, spontaneous demonstrations took place in various parts of Istanbul, including noise-making with pots and whistles from home balconies.
Imamoglu's arrest in a police raid at his home on Wednesday has triggered the largest wave of protests in the last decade. Close to 400 people have been arrested in the past four days, during the protests, in police raids, or for criticizing the government on social media.