Turkey: Thousands join anti-government protests in Istanbul, opposition vows to keep fighting

Now thousands of people have demonstrated again in Istanbul

this time three weeks after the arrest of the city's mayor, Ekrem İmimoglu

who is also President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's main political opponent, the leader of the opposition CHP party

saying the protests will continue until İmimoglu is free and that the opposition will fight until the end

And his aim is to force Erdogan to hold early elections with, of course, İmimoglu a candidate

Well, we're going to cross then to Istanbul, We'll talk to our reporter Andrew Hillier, who joins us from there

Andy, tell us then first about this demonstration last night. I know you were there and what you made, if you like

of the passions expressed there by the demonstrators. Yes, Stuart, this was a big test for the CHP

Turkey's main opposition party. It was their first big rally in Istanbul since March 29th

and the rally they held in Maltepe on the Asian side of the city. There were several thousand people in attendance, very large crowds from what we could see

And it was the first of what has been billed as a series of weekly Wednesday rallies to be held in Istanbul

Now, the choice of holding it in the district of Şişli was very important too

This is a district of Istanbul that until recently was run by a CHP mayor

who was subsequently arrested and imprisoned in the Silivri prison complex, that is on the outskirts of Istanbul

It's also where Ekrem Imamoglu is being held. And he was replaced by a government-appointed trustee

Now, in what has become a familiar site, a familiar feature of these demonstrations

the leader of the CHP, Özgür Azel, addressed crowds. He came out fighting, really

He insisted that the rally wasn't a gathering, but an act of defiance against the ruling authorities

He also read out a letter from Ekrem Imamoglu. And amongst the crowds lots of passion I would say There was a very large demographic of people young and old alike lots of students who had marched from different parts of Istanbul to take part in the rally And all the people there in attendance telling us that they were determined to continue protesting

Take a listen. This movement will change everything because everyone wants only democracy

not any violence or another thing. We only want our democracy back

We just want to change this party, AKP. We just want to change the system to keep our rights again, to get it back

Andy, it's been three weeks now, hasn't it, since Ekrem Emomolu was arrested. But on Friday, tomorrow, there are hearings for two other cases

that actually precede his detention. Tell us more about that. Yes, that's absolutely right, Stuart

Now Ekrem Imamoglu is currently in prison, as I mentioned earlier there, in the Silivery

prison complex, pending trial on corruption charges. But Friday tomorrow is a significant date in two other criminal cases Indeed before his arrest three weeks ago he already faced several criminal cases

And the two hearings that will take place tomorrow are very significant

Now, the first thing that I should mention is that those hearings have been moved from courthouses in Istanbul

to a courthouse inside the prison complex. The decision may have been taken to avoid potential protests

from taking place outside the courthouses in Istanbul. Now, the first case relates to remarks Imamoglu made

against Istanbul's chief public prosecutor, and he faces up to seven years in prison if he's convicted in that case

The other hearing is part of an ongoing trial into allegations of tender rigging

when Imamoglu was mayor of a district of Istanbul before he was elected as mayor of Istanbul, the city itself

And given the ongoing tensions, given in the context of ongoing protests

police, the authorities are on high alert. Andy, thanks very much. Andra Hillier, our reporter there, joining us live from Istanbul