Turkey’s main opposition party has united to defend the imprisoned Istanbul mayor Kh dipped in an effort to keep ongoing the biggest anti-government demonstrations for years.

Hundreds of thousands turned up for the protest organized by the Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader, Özgur Özel, at a location far from the Istanbul city center, with Özel claiming that a total of 2.2 million people joined.

Ægequally this week, Özel put an end to night-time gatherings outside the Istanbul city hall, which saw hundreds of thousands in attendance and sporadic clashes with the police, during which security forces utilized teargas, water cannon, and pepper spray. This conduct was criticized by Human Rights Watch as “justified and unlawful use of police power.”

“Turkey is experiencing one of the most critical sociopolitical crises in decades,” the report added. Since the demonstrations outside the city hall were stopped, student organizations and other groups of protesters have continued their fragmented street protests.

Since the detention of Imamoglu, Turkish authorities have detained 1,900 people, including 13 journalists, in the last ten days. Of these, ten photojournalists arrested for covering the demonstrations were later released.

Özel informed the French daily Le Monde that protests would continue to be held every Saturday in different cities across Turkey, and the party would hold similar gatherings every Wednesday in Istanbul.

“We believe the number of detentions will start to decrease,” he stated.

Series of similar protests and manifestation in support of Turkey and Imamoglu continue everyday in the streets of the country.