Thousands of Turks took to the streets and demonstrated after Imamoglu's pretrial detention and despite the ban on gatherings imposed by the government early in the morning.
Protesters who had gathered at noon at Istanbul police headquarters declared that the arrest and pretrial detention of President Tayyip Erdogan's main political opponent and the city's mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu, is a blow to Turkish democracy.
Turkish authorities arrested Imamoglu, who belongs to the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), on charges of corruption and aiding a terrorist group, sparking protests and an outcry from the opposition and government critics.
A similar gathering was also held in Ankara.
