A court in Istanbul has rejected the appeal against the arrest of ousted mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, which his lawyers filed last week, TRT Haber reported, quoted by BTA.
The appeal against İmamoğlu's arrest was filed by his lawyers on April 7, in which they called for his immediate release and the dropping of the charges, which they say are "the product of an investigation carried out with illegal means from beginning to end".
Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu was detained on March 19 along with a number of members of the Republican People's Party (CHP), and on March 23 the court extended his detention on corruption charges, and only days later the Istanbul City Council removed İmamoğlu from office and appointed Nuri Aslan as his temporary replacement.
Imamoğlu's arrest sparked mass protests across the country, which resulted in clashes between police and protesters, as well as new arrests.
59 students who participated in the protests in support of İmamoğlu are released from custody
At the same time, İmamoğlu was chosen as the official candidate for the presidential race by the HDP, and the opposition started a petition demanding his immediate release and early presidential elections before the regular ones, which are due to be held in 2028.