Protests Erupt in Turkey Following Arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu

Demonstrations have erupted across Turkey following the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu on Wednesday. Imamoglu, a potential rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, faces charges of corruption and alleged links to terrorism. Thousands of protesters have taken to the streets in cities including Istanbul, Ankara, and Izmir, resulting in clashes with Turkish riot police. Authorities have responded with rubber bullets, pepper spray, tear gas, and water cannons. A five-day ban on demonstrations has been announced. Opposition leader Ozgur Ozel estimates that over 300,000 people have participated in the protests in Istanbul alone. Imamoglu's arrest has been condemned by critics as a politically motivated attempt to remove a key challenger to Erdogan. The government denies these accusations, asserting the independence of the Turkish courts. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has called the arrest a "very, very bad sign" for Turkey's relations with the European Union.