Turkish police fired tear gas to disperse a group of protesters who clashed with officers outside an Istanbul courthouse while rallying in support of the city’s mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, who was called to give testimony in two new legal probes against him.
Thousands of supporters gathered on January 31 outside the Caglayan courthouse to protest the legal actions against Imamoglu.
Imamoglu testified Friday before prosecutors for two hours in connection with comments he made about a chief prosecutor and a court expert.
The politician has already been convicted of charges of insulting members of Turkey’s Supreme Electoral Council and faces a political ban if his conviction in 2022 is upheld by a high court. He is also on trial on charges that he was involved in the alleged rigging of bids in a tender dating back to 2015.
