Early Sunday morning, Turkey's public prosecutor officially requested the arrest of detained Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, a prominent rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on charges of corruption and alleged ties to terrorism.

The court is expected to decide whether Imamoglu will be formally charged and detained until trial. His arrest earlier this week has sharply heightened political tensions and sparked widespread protests across Turkey, with demonstrators gathering in several cities to voice their opposition.

Many view his arrest as a politically motivated attempt to sideline him from the upcoming presidential race scheduled for 2028. The government denies these allegations, asserting that Turkey's judiciary operates independently.

Turkish police interrogated Imamoglu for approximately five hours on Saturday as part of an investigation into allegations of aiding the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), according to the newspaper "Cumhuriyet." He was also questioned for four hours on Friday regarding corruption charges. The mayor has denied all accusations during both interrogations.