Supporters of the mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu, said that corruption charges against him were a ploy to hobble the main political rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

A Turkish court jailed Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, pending a trial on corruption charges, in a move likely to cause the country's biggest protests in more than a decade.

Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu was jailed on Sunday pending trial for graft charges, according to Turkish media and other broadcasters, in a move expected to ignite significant protests