Tens of thousands of demonstrators filled Istanbul’s Maltepe district on Saturday in the largest protest to date against the arrest of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB) Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu. The demonstration, organised by the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), marked the tenth consecutive day of mass resistance against what protestors describe as a “civil coup” led by the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

In an emotionally charged speech, CHP leader Özgür Özel accused the government of staging a politically motivated crackdown to eliminate electoral opposition.