Police in Istanbul have used tear gas and rubber bullets against demonstrators in a second night of disorder after the arrest of the Mayor of Istanbul Ekrem Imamoglu - despite a four-day protest ban being in place, writes BBC.

Imamoglu - a member of the secular Republican People’s Party (CHP) and a key rival of Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan - was set to be named as a presidential candidate for the 2028 presidential elections later this week. On Wednesday, he was one of 106 people held on charges including corruption and aiding terrorist groups.

Since then, authorities in Turkey have arrested dozens of people for “provocative” social media posts. Responding to the protests, Turkey’s President Erdogan accused his political opponents of theatrics for taking part in a second night of demonstrations. “They have lost the balance so much that they are in a state to attack our police, hurl threats at judges, prosecutors”, he said.

Addressing a crowd of protesters outside Istanbul"s city hall, Ozgur Ozel, the leader of Imamoglu’s CHP party, accused the government of attempting a “coup” and said people had the right to protest. Interior minister Ali Yerlikaya announced on Thursday morning that police had identified 261 “suspect account managers” online who had allegedly posted content “inciting the public to hatred and hostility” and “incitement to commit a crime”. “37 suspects were caught and efforts are continuing to catch the other suspects”, - he said.