Tens of thousands take part in Istanbul rally for jailed mayor

ISTANBUL - Tens of thousands of people took part in a rally Wednesday in Istanbul to support the city's jailed mayor Ekrem Imamoglu who has become the figurehead of an opposition campaign against the government.

The demonstration was one of the biggest in recent weeks and came as the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) sought to relaunch its effort for Imamoglu who was detained in March.

A man holds a portrait of MP's of pro-Kurdish Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party Sirri Sureyya Onder as mourners carry the coffin covered by red carnations at Barbaros Hayrettin Mosque in Istanbul on May 4, 2025. MP's of pro-Kurdish Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party Sirri Sureyya Onder died aged 62, an Istanbul hospital said on May 3, 2025, after undergoing heart surgery on April 15 two and a half weeks after suffering a cardiac arrest on 15 April. (Photo by Yasin AKGUL / AFP)

"Our struggle is the struggle for democracy, for freedom," CHP leader Ozgur Ozel told the rally.

Imamoglu, who was detained on March 19 on corruption charges which he strongly denies, is seen as the biggest rival to longtime leader President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The arrest could stop Imamoglu taking part in presidential election scheduled for 2028.

In the days after Imamoglu's arrest tens of thousands of people took part in near daily protests. But numbers had dwindled in recent weeks.

The latest protest was held outside Istanbul University that had stripped Imamoglu of his degree the day before his arrest.

"We have come here today to take back his diploma," Ozel told the crowd.

He said that a petition demanding the release of Imamoglu and for immediate elections had secured 14.8 million signatures nationwide. - AFP