For the second day in a row, several thousand people are protesting in Turkey's largest city against the arrest of the popular mayor – who is also President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's main political rival.
Outside Istanbul's city hall, thousands of demonstrators gathered – some of whom clashed with police who used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse them.
The leader of the opposition party CHP, Özgur Özel, who spoke from the city hall, warned the police against using violence against the demonstrators, particularly rubber bullets.
If it happens, Istanbul's police will be held accountable, he warned.
"No terrorist"
And directed at President Erdogan came the next warning: The protests will not cease.
Mayor Ekrem is not corrupt or involved in terrorism. He is no thief or terrorist, he said, looking out over the crowd.
It was not I who filled this square or our streets. It was you. The streets are full thanks to you.
"Tayyip, resign! Tayyip resign!" chanted the demonstrators in response, on this second evening of demonstrations where thousands heeded the opposition party's call to ignore the temporary ban on demonstrations.
This is not a one-day protest, we will defend our rights to the end, says 24-year-old student Basak Cohce to the news agency AFP.
On Imamoglu's account on the platform X, citizens had earlier on Thursday been urged to "rise up against the evil in the nation" and fight against Erdogan's unjust regime.
"It's time to raise our voices", it said on Imamoglu's account.
Imamoglu was arrested in a large dawn raid on Wednesday and the government later announced that the suspicions concern three separate cases, where corruption and "support for a terrorist organization" were mentioned.
37 arrested
The threats were intensified on Thursday. Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said that 261 suspected internet users had been tracked and he accused them of "inciting the public to hatred and hostility".
37 suspects have been arrested and efforts are being made to catch the others, said Yerlikaya.
Erdogan later added to the accusations, accusing Imamoglu and his party CHP of playing theater and "covering up their own mistakes".
We have neither time for meaningless debates nor heaps of money to throw around us, he said in a speech in Ankara.
A hundred people were arrested in connection with the operation against Imamoglu and immediately afterwards, internet traffic to social platforms was shut down and demonstrations were banned for four days.
