WATCH: Police use pepper spray as thousands gather to protest Istanbul mayor's arrest in graft charges

Police use pepper spray and tear gas bullets during clashes with people during a protest against the arrest of Istanbul's Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu in Istanbul.

With thousands of people taking to the streets of Istanbul to protest over the detention of the city's mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, an outspoken critic of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the police on Monday resorted to pepper spraying to disperse the large crowd gathered near city hall, reported news agency AFP.

"Police used pepper spray against a large crowd gathered near Istanbul city hall, as the Turkish city saw its fifth night of protests against the arrest of its mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu. President Erdogan's main opponent was jailed in a graft probe and suspended as mayor on Sunday in developments that have sparked Turkey's worst street unrest in more than a decade," read an X post by AFP.

VIDEO: Police use pepper spray as crowds gather to protest Istanbul mayor arrest.
Police used pepper spray against a large crowd gathered near Istanbul city hall, as the Turkish city saw its fifth night of protests against the arrest of its mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu. President pic.twitter.com/JsBW19Bv8u AFP News Agency (@AFP) March 24, 2025

A video from the site of incident shows protesters gathered in thousands of numbers with flags and banners against the arrest of Imamoglu, while the police allegedly use pepper spray to disperse them.

Arrest sparks Turkey's worst street unrest in more than a decade.Riot police used rubber bullets, pepper spray and percussion grenades on demonstrators rallying in Istanbul to protest the arrest of Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu. The unrest has spread rapidly, despite a ban on protests pic.twitter.com/ynUwuWgIV3 AFP News Agency (@AFP) March 24, 2025

This comes a day after a court formally arrested the mayor and ordered him jailed pending the outcome of a trial on corruption charges.

Imamoglu was detained following a raid on his residence earlier this week, sparking the largest wave of street demonstrations in Turkiye in more than a decade. It also deepened concerns over democracy and rule of law in Turkiye.

His imprisonment is widely regarded as a political move to remove a major contender from the next presidential race, currently scheduled for 2028.

Government officials reject accusations that legal actions against opposition figures are politically motivated and insist that Turkiye's courts operate independently.

The formal arrest came as his opposition Republican People's Party, or CHP, began holding a primary presidential election to endorse Imamoglu as its presidential candidate despite the arrest.

The party has also set up symbolic ballot boxes nationwide — called “solidarity boxes” — to allow people who are not party members to express their support to the mayor.

The mayor's arrest marks an escalation of a government crackdown on opposition figures and dissenting voices.

Before his detention, Imamoglu had already faced multiple criminal cases that could result in prison sentences and a political ban. He was also appealing a 2022 conviction for insulting members of Turkiye's Supreme Electoral Council.

(With inputs from agencies)