Thousands of protestors took to the streets of Istanbul on Thursday following the arrest of the city's Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, France 24 reported. İmamoğlu, who belongs to the opposition party, is seen as a key rival to Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan,

Thousands gathered outside İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB) headquarters in the Fatih district late yesterday to protest the detention of Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu and more than 100 others, including district mayors and other officials.

Authorities have also taken measures to prevent potential protests, such as closing roads and banning demonstrations for four days. Access to a number of social media platforms was throttled.