Police officers use pepper spray on demonstrators during a protest on the day Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu was jailed as part of a corruption investigation, in Istanbul, Turkey, March 23, 2025.

Turkey has been plunged into a political crisis after the authorities arrested Ekrem Imamoglu, the mayor of Istanbul and the top rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and jailed him pending his ...

A man attaches a large banner of Istanbul's Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu in a tree in Istanbul, Turkey, Thursday, March 20, 2025, during a protest against the arrest of Imamoglu.

Ekrem Imamoglu, the mayor of Istanbul and a popular figure, had basked in the glow of what he often jokingly dubbed his political miracle — the only person to have beaten Recep Tayyip Erdogan ...

Republican People’s Party, or CHP, candidate for Istanbul Ekrem Imamoglu talks to journalists at his party headquarters in Istanbul, Turkey, March 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel, file) ...

Growing protests in reaction to the arrest Riot police use pepper spray to clear protesters during a protest against the arrest of Istanbul's Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, in Istanbul, Turkey, on Saturday.

Imamoglu, who called the charges a “ black stain on our democracy,” has also been suspended from his position as mayor. If convicted, as is expected, he will not be allowed to run for President.

Students burn flares as they walk to the City Hall building during a demonstration to support the city mayor Ekrem Imamoglu. AFP via Getty Images Close to 1,900 people have been detained since the ...

A Turkish court jailed Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu on Sunday pending trial on graft charges, state media and other broadcasters said, in a move likely to stoke the country’s biggest protests ...