More than two million supporters of jailed Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu took to the city's streets in protest demanding his release after being arrested on corruption charges.

Tens of thousands of people gathered in Istanbul on Saturday to protest against the jailing of Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, President Tayyip Erdogan's main rival, sustaining the largest demonstrations Turkey has seen in more than a decade.

Hundreds of thousands of protesters again congregated in Istanbul Saturday to how their support for the city's imprisoned mayor and demand his release. Turkey's main opposition party, the Republican People's Party (CHP) organized the demonstration,

Thousands of Turks ramped up protests on Thursday despite a ban on street gatherings over what they called the undemocratic detention of Istanbul’s mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, as the opposition sought to pin the blame on President Tayyip Erdogan.

Turkey's justice minister said on Thursday the decision to arrest Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu was based on criminal reports and not linked to the timing of the opposition CHP party's selection of Imamoglu as its presidential candidate.

Popular opposition politician Ekrem İmamoğlu, a leading rival of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has been formally arrested and removed as mayor of Istanbul after a court on Sunday ordered his pre-trial detention on corruption charges.

As hundreds of thousands of people gathered in Istanbul on Saturday to demand İmamoglu’s release, President Erdoğan, the commander-in-chief of NATO’s second largest army, accused the CHP of serving imperialism.

Mahir Polat, deputy secretary-general of the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality, was transferred back to prison after undergoing angioplasty at a hospital. Polat had been remanded in custody along with 50 others, including İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu.