Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, a top political rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is set to appear before prosecutors Saturday following his arrest on charges of bribery, extortion, and alleged ties to a banned Kurdish group.
The detention has sparked three nights of nationwide protests, with police using tear gas, rubber bullets, and water cannons to disperse crowds. Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya confirmed 97 arrests.
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Imamoglu, 53, denies all charges, calling the probes politically motivated. His detention has drawn hundreds of thousands to the streets, marking Turkey’s largest protests in over a decade. T
he turmoil has also rattled financial markets, with the BIST 100 index dropping nearly 8% Friday. Protests are expected to continue Saturday.
