"Yet another fabricated accusation," comments Turan Taskin Özer, a member of parliament for Imamoglu's party CHP, on X.
The Mayor of Istanbul, Imamoglu, who is generally seen as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's main challenger, was arrested for alleged corruption on March 19. Since then, thousands of people have participated in almost daily street protests, despite a newly introduced demonstration ban. More than 1,400 people have been detained.
"In the forbidden mind, neither lies nor slander cease. This time, my lawyer Mehmet Pehlivan was imprisoned on false grounds," reads a post on Imamoglu's own X account.
"As if the coup attempt against democracy were not enough, they cannot tolerate the victims of the coup defending themselves."
