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		</div><p>Hundreds of thousands of protesters again congregated in Istanbul on Saturday to how their support for the city’s imprisoned mayor and demand his release.</p>
<p>Turkey’s main opposition party, the Republican People’s Party (CHP) organised the demonstration, the latest in a series of protests that resulted in hundreds of detentions and have turned up the pressure on the country’s long-time leader, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.</p>
<p>Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, a key rival to Mr Erdogan, was detained on March 19 on corruption and terrorism charges that many saw as politically motivated.</p>
<p>The government insists the judiciary is independent and free of political interference.</p>
<p>His detention, and later formal arrest over the corruption charges on March 23, sparked nationwide protests despite assembly bans, police crackdowns, and legal prosecution by authorities.</p>
<p>“They’ve detained hundreds of our children, thousands of our youths … arrested hundreds of them,” CHP leader Ozgur Ozel told protesters.</p>
<p>“They only had one goal in mind: to intimidate them, terrify them, make sure they never go out again.”</p>
<p>Interior minister Ali Yerlikaya said on Thursday that nearly 1,900 people had been detained since March 19, and pro-government media reported on Friday that public prosecutors had requested up to three years imprisonment for 74 of the detainees.</p>
<p>Police kept their distance at Saturday’s rally with no new arrests reported.</p>
<p>Mr Ozel called for the immediate release of Mr Imamoglu, as well as for other political prisoners including Selahattin Demirtas, a former presidential candidate and founder of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party, or DEM.</p>
<p>“In the Turkey we envision presidential candidates will not be imprisoned,” added Mr Ozel.</p>
<p>Last Sunday, hours after he had been formally arrested, Mr Imamoglu won a symbolic primary to be the CHP’s candidate in a presidential election currently scheduled for 2028, but which is likely to take place earlier.</p>
<p>Mr Ozel noted they would begin collecting signatures for Mr Imamoglu’s release and also to demand an early election.</p>
<p>Other speakers at Saturday’s rally included Dilek Imamoglu, the imprisoned mayor’s wife, as well as Ankara mayor Masur Yavas, another high profile CHP figure.</p>
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