Large crowds rally to Istanbul against imprisonment of Erdogan's main rival

Hundreds of thousands of Turks protested in Istanbul on Saturday against the imprisonment of Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, the main rival of Turkish President Recep Tayip Erdogan, supporting the biggest demonstrations Turkey has seen in more than a decade.

A letter from Imamoglu was read at the crowd's cheer rally.

I'm not afraid, you're after me and next to me. I'm not afraid because the nation is united. The nation is united against the oppressor”, says on paper, writes Reuters, broadcast Periscope.

I can be put in jail and tried as long as they want, the nation has shown it will crush all the traps and plots”.

Hundreds of thousands of Turks across the country have heard opposition calls to protest since Imamoglu was arrested last week and later imprisoned pending trial for corruption charges.

Protests have been largely peaceful, but about 2,000 people have been arrested.

The main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), other opposition parties, rights groups and some Western powers have said the issue against Imamoglu is a politicised effort to eliminate a possible electoral threat to Erdogan. /Periscope/