Thousands of demonstrators have gathered in Istanbul to protest against the arrest of the city’s mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu, defying a stern warning from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Protesters have taken to the streets for three consecutive days, voicing their opposition to the detention of Imamoglu, who was taken into custody on Wednesday—just days before he was expected to announce his candidacy for the 2028 presidential election. Opposition leader Ozgur Ozel claimed that over 300,000 people had joined protests across the city, despite road and bridge closures designed to limit the scale of the demonstrations.

Imamoglu was arrested on charges of alleged corruption and links to “terror” organisations, alongside several other prominent figures, including journalists and businesspeople. A government-imposed four-day ban on political demonstrations swiftly followed the detentions. In a move that further inflamed tensions, Istanbul University invalidated Imamoglu’s diploma, effectively disqualifying him from running for the presidency, as a university degree is a constitutional requirement for candidacy. Imamoglu has vowed to challenge the university’s decision, while his supporters decry the arrests as a politically motivated effort to eliminate a major rival to Erdogan.

Erdogan has dismissed accusations of political interference, insisting that Turkish courts operate independently and that the arrests were part of an anti-corruption operation. He has condemned the protests, accusing Imamoglu’s Republican People’s Party (CHP) of exploiting the situation to incite unrest. However, government critics argue that the arrests are an attempt to weaken the opposition ahead of the next national elections. Reporters noted that many university students have joined the demonstrations, protesting both Imamoglu’s detention and the decision to revoke his diploma. Protesters have framed their movement as a stand against systemic injustice rather than mere support for any one political figure.

The unrest has quickly spread beyond Istanbul, with protests reported in 32 of Turkiye’s 81 provinces. The CHP, which had planned to nominate Imamoglu as its presidential candidate, has labelled his arrest a “coup”. Turkish media have reported that at least 88 protesters have been arrested, while authorities have also detained 54 individuals for online posts deemed as “incitement to hatred”. The arrest of Imamoglu, who won Istanbul’s mayoralty in 2019 in a historic defeat for Erdogan’s ruling party, has further fuelled political tensions in a country already grappling with deep divisions.