Dissatisfaction is simmering in Turkey after the high-profile arrest of Erdogan's political rival Ekrem Imamoglu early on Wednesday morning. Immediately after the arrest, internet traffic to social media platforms was shut down and demonstrations were banned for four days.
However, this has not prevented large numbers of people from taking to the streets in Istanbul to protest.
Images from the AP news agency show large crowds outside the city hall in Istanbul, and the Turkish Cumhuriyet reports on "tens of thousands" of people.
According to AFP, the crowds chanted "Erdogan, dictator!" and "Imamoglu, you are not alone!". Images from AP also show clashes between demonstrators and police on the spot.
Hours after Imamoglu's arrest, the government announced that the suspicions relate to three separate cases, where corruption and "support to a terrorist organization" were mentioned. The operation took place ahead of an expected announcement that Imamoglu would run as a candidate for the opposition party CHP (Republican People's Party) in the 2028 presidential election.
