BREAKING: Istanbul On Fire As Huge Protest Meets Erdogan Police's Crackdown

Thousands of people gathered outside Istanbul’s city hall for a second consecutive night on Thursday to rally against the arrest of the city’s mayor, a prominent contender against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, which many view as a politically driven attempt to eliminate a key rival from the next presidential race. Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu was arrested after a dawn raid on his residence on Wednesday as part of investigations into alleged corruption and terror links, escalating a crackdown on opposition figures and dissenting voices. Several other prominent figures, including two district mayors, were also detained.
The detention of a popular opposition leader deepened concerns over democracy and sparked protests in Istanbul and elsewhere, despite a four-day ban on demonstrations in the city and road closures.
It also caused a shockwave in the financial market, triggering temporary halts in trading on Wednesday to prevent panic selling. Mansur Yavas, the Mayor of the capital Ankara and another popular opposition figure, joined the rally outside Istanbul city hall on Thursday, calling on all opposition parties to join forces against “injustices.”