A court in Turkiye has ordered the mayor of Istanbul be formally arrested and jailed, pending trial on charges of corruption.

Ekrem Imamoglu denies the accusations and says they're part of a smear campaign.

Mass protests have been held nightly in Istanbul and the capital Ankara since he was detained on Wednesday.

Supporters came out in spite of a ban on public gatherings.
They say the charges against the opposition politician are politically motivated.

Imamoglu had also been accused of terrorism, but those charges have been dropped.

Mehmet Celik is a Political Analyst and the Editorial Coordinator at Daily Sabah, a pro-government English language newspaper in Turkiye.