Protests resume as Istanbul mayor spends first night in custody

AFP | Istanbul

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Protesters gathered in Istanbul for a second day yesterday after police detained the city’s powerful mayor in a graft and terror probe that the opposition has slammed as a political “coup”.

Ekrem Imamoglu, who is President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s main political rival, was detained by hundreds of police before dawn on Wednesday, four days before being named as the main opposition CHP’s candidate for the 2028 race.

The move sent Turkey’s financial markets into a tailspin, dealing a heavy blow to the Turkish lira that was trading at around 38 lira to the dollar yesterday.

Turkey’s Central Bank said it would draw on its foreign exchange reserves if needed to prevent further harm to the lira, with economists saying it had already done so on Wednesday.

Police barricades remained up around Taksim Square and there was a heavy police presence around City Hall to enforce a four-day ban on protests.