Protests grow after Istanbul mayor jailed
Anti-government protesters and police clashed again in Istanbul after a Turkish court jailed the city's mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu, pending trial on corruption charges.
The decision to send Imamoglu to jail has inflamed the country's biggest protests in more than a decade and comes after the main opposition party, European leaders and tens of thousands of protesters criticised the actions against him as politicised and undemocratic.
Imamoglu is seen as President Tayyip Erdogan's main political rival.
Addressing hundreds of thousands of people in front of the Istanbul Municipality headquarters in Sarachane again, leader of main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) Ozgur Ozel repeated a call to boycott media, brands, and stores he called pro-Erdogan, adding all charges against Imamoglu were baseless, unfounded and without evidence.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said that protests over the jailing of Istanbul's mayor had turned into a "movement of violence" and said the main opposition party would be held accountable for injured police officers and damage to property.
The detention last Wednesday of Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, Erdogan's main political rival, has triggered the biggest street protests in Turkey in more than a decade. A court jailed him, pending trial, on corruption charges that he denies.
Despite bans on street gatherings in many cities, the mostly peaceful anti-government demonstrations continued for a fifth consecutive night, with hundreds of thousands taking part and Imamoglu's opposition Republican People's Party calling for the nationwide protests to continue.
Earlier, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikiaya accused the protesters of "terrorizing" the streets and threatening national security. He said 1,133 people had been detained during five days of protests and that 123 police officers had been injured.
The CHP labels Imamoglu's arrest as politically motivated and undemocratic. Erdogan's government denies these assertions and says Turkey's courts are independent.
