By Akin Nazli in Belgrade A judge during the morning of March 23 ordered the formal arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu at the request of prosecutors, according to local media reports. Imamoglu, widely regarded as a real threat to long-ruling President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as he may be the only politician who could dislodge him from power in a

Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu was on Wednesday morning arrested, hours after his university degree was revoked and two days before his party the CHP was set to name him as its candidate to challenge Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the country’s next presidential election.

Turkey is witnessing massive protests as thousands of demonstrators have come out on the streets. The reason: They are raising their voice against the arrest of Ekrem Imamoglu, the Istanbul mayor and rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.