Arrested Istanbul mayor urges judges to act as protests resume

ISTANBUL: Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu on Thursday urged the judiciary to take a stand against the Turkish government´s misuse of the courts as protesters rallied for a second day over his shock arrest in a graft and terror probe.

Imamoglu urged judges and prosecutors to “stand up and take action against those who are ruining the judiciary” in a message on X via his lawyers. “You cannot and must not remain silent,” he wrote after spending his first night in police custody after what the main opposition CHP denounced as a political “coup”.

The powerful and popular mayor -- who is President Recep Tayyip Erdogan´s main political rival -- was held before dawn on Wednesday, just days before he was to be named as the CHP´s candidate for the 2028 race.

The move brought thousands onto the streets, despite a four-day ban on protests, and by Thursday afternoon, the demonstrators were back holding placards saying “Together against lawlessness”.

More than 1,000 students from Galatasaray University joined a protest march through the waterfront Besiktas district, with scuffles as police tried to break it up. Students were also marching from Istanbul University, which had on Tuesday revoked Imamoglu´s degree -- a significant move as presidential candidates must have a third level qualification.