ISTANBUL: Police in Turkiye fired tear gas to disperse a group of protesters who clashed with officers on Friday outside an Istanbul courthouse while rallying in support of the city’s mayor, who was called to give testimony in two new legal probes against him.
Thousands of supporters gathered outside the Caglayan courthouse to protest the legal actions against Ekrem Imamoglu, a potential future leader of Turkiye’s main opposition, the Republican People’s Party, or CHP.
Imamoglu testified on Friday before prosecutors for two hours in connection with comments he made about a chief prosecutor and a court expert.
Critics argue that the probes were part of an effort to remove Imamoglu from the political scene.
FASTFACT
Thousands of supporters gathered outside the Caglayan courthouse to protest the legal actions against Ekrem Imamoglu.
The politician has already been convicted of charges of insulting members of Turkiye’s Supreme Electoral Council and faces a political ban if a high court upholds his conviction in 2022.
He is also on trial on charges involving the alleged rigging of bids in a tender dating back to 2015.
Tensions escalated on Friday when riot police blocked a CHP bus from approaching the courthouse.
The move led to clashes between the protesters and the police, who responded with tear gas.
It was not clear if any arrests were made. Imamoglu later addressed the crowds from the top of the bus at another location.
“Today’s issue is ... an issue of seeking rights and justice,” the mayor said.
“Unfortunately, today’s issue stems from a conspiracy against Istanbul.”
Imamoglu, 53, was first elected to lead Istanbul in March 2019.
His win was a historic blow to Justice and Development Party, which had controlled Istanbul for a quarter-century.
The party pushed to void the municipal election results, alleging irregularities in the city of 16 million.
The challenge resulted in a repeat of the election a few months later, which Imamoglu also won.
Imamoglu was reelected mayor of Turkiye’s largest city last year.
