Prodemocratic protesters return to the streets of Istanbul for a large rally

Hundreds of thousands of prodemocratic protesters have returned to the streets of Istanbul, Türkiye, in support of the mayor imprisoned by the city.

Ekrem Imamoglu, who is seen as the main political rival of the president of Türkiye, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was arrested for corruption charges last week, which caused mass protests.

He denies the charges and states that his arrest is politically motivated. Imamoglu is currently in solitary confinement in a high security prison on the outskirts of Istanbul.

Saturday’s crowds were so large that they spilled from the protest site in a neighboring park. Imamogl’s president of the Republican Popular Party (CHP) addressed the protesters, reading a letter from the imprisoned politician.

“I am not afraid, you are behind me and my side. I am not afraid because the nation is united. The nation is united against the oppressor,” Reuters said that the letter said. He was accompanied by a video generated by Imamoglu reading his letter from a jail cell.

Imamoglu’s wife, Dilek, was also in the protest and told the crowd: “We will continue fighting and fighting.”

They gathered under a blue sky without clouds, the protesters stirred the red flags of Türkiye and sang: “Rights, laws, justice!”

Imamoglu has served as mayor of Istanbul since 2019 and won a resounding victory in the Mayor’s elections last year.

It is widely seen as the only Turkish politician capable of challenging Erdogan and his justice and development party, also known as AK, at the polls.

A series of huge prodemocratic protests have shaken the country since Imamoglu arrest earlier this month.

They have also expressed concern that Hey will not face a free trial and just when his case is heard in court.

The government has denied that Imamoglu arrest has been politically motivated and insists that Turkish courts are totally independent.

Erdogan has affirmed that protests are equivalent to “street terrorism”accusing protesters of attacking the police and damaging public property.

On some occasions, the riot police have tried to disperse these protests using tear gas and rubber bullets.