“My lawyer Mehmet Pehlivan was arrested on false charges,” Imamoglu announced in a message via his legal team on X.
Pehlivan served Imamoglu during his court hearing on corruption allegations on Sunday.
Imamoglu, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s major political rival, was arrested last week. The arrest came before Imamoglu planned to announce his presidential candidacy and provoked Turkey’s fiercest anti-government protests in a decade.
Since then, about 1,900 individuals, including protesters and journalists, have been detained by Turkish authorities.
Media under pressure for protest coverage
Additionally, the Turkish Journalists’ Union (TGS) reported that two more journalists were taken into custody during dawn raids for covering the mass protests.
The journalists identified are Nisa Sude Demirel, a correspondent for the newspaper Evrensel, and Elif Bayburt, a reporter for the ETHA news agency.
Turkish authorities released the last of 11 journalists arrested in dawn raids on Monday.
BBC correspondent Mark Lowen was also expelled from Turkey for reporting on the protests, according to the broadcaster.
Turkey’s Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTUK) fined four broadcasters for coverage related to the arrests. SZC TV and other channels were sanctioned for alleged violations, with SZC TV ordered to halt broadcasting for 10 days.
Protests remain ongoing
Despite requests from the CHP for ongoing protests, demonstrations occurred overnight into Friday. Witnesses reported police detaining student protestors.
Erdogan dismissed the protests as a “show” and warned of legal consequences for protest participants.
Although most demonstrations have stayed peaceful, some clashes have occurred with police deploying water cannons, tear gas, plastic pellets, and pepper spray against unpermitted protests in Istanbul, Ankara, and Izmir.
Edited by Sean Sinco
