Following the arrest and jailing of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, tens of thousands of demonstrators continued their protests across Turkey. As protestors were met with tear gas and rubber bullets for a fifth consecutive night, Imamoglu's wife Dilek Kaya Imamoglu addressed the demonstrators outside City Hall and stated that President Erdogan "will be defeated."
Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu was arrested last week on the charges of corruption and aiding terrorist organisations. On Sunday, a Turkish court jailed the mayor pending trial for corruption.
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As the protests enter their fifth day, the jailed mayor's wife Dilek Kaya Imamoglu addressed demonstrators outside city hall and condemned the arrest of her husband.
"The injustice Ekrem faced... it struck a chord with every conscience. Everyone found something of themselves and the injustices they faced in what was done to Ekrem," she said, adding that Erdogan will be defeated.
France has slammed Turkey for jailing Imamoglu and referred to the act as an "attack on democracy." In an official statement from the Foreign Ministry, Paris pointed out that Turkey, which has been led by Erdogan for over 20 years, had promised to protect the rights of opposition figures.
As per the Turkish court which jailed Imamoglu, the mayor was jailed on charges of corruption but the charges of aiding terrorist organisations has been dropped.
"In connection with a financial investigation, it has been decided that the suspect, Ekrem İmamoglu, be remanded in custody on charges of establishing and leading a criminal organization, accepting bribes, misconduct in office, unlawfully recording personal data, and bid rigging," the court ruled.
READ | Who Is Ekrem Imamoglu? Istanbul Mayor And Key Erdogan Rival Detained By Turkish Authorities
Meanwhile, as the Turkish court jailed Imamoglu on charges of corruption, around 15 million people stepped out and voted for the opposition primary.
The voting, which took place at Istanbul city hall, saw 15 million voters, prompting an extension of polling time by three-and-a-half hours. "Out of 15 million votes, 13,211,000 expressed their solidarity" with Ekrem Imamoglu, the imprisoned opposition figure now suspended as Istanbul's mayor, said the statement by Istanbul city hall.
Opposition members and protestors have labelled Imamoglu's arrest as part of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's crackdown on dissent and opposition to Turkey.
Adding to these statements, social media platform X stated it will not be complying with Turkish court orders which called to block hundreds of accounts of X.
"We object to multiple court orders from the Turkish Information and Communication Technologies Authority to block over 700 accounts of news organizations, journalists, political figures, students, and others within Turkiye," the X communications team said in a statement.
