Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu called on the judiciary to stand up to the Turkish government's abuse of the courts to order his detention.

"I also call on the tens of thousands of honest, moral prosecutors and judges ... You must stand up and take action against those colleagues who are ruining the judiciary ... you cannot and must not remain silent. You cannot and must not remain silent," he wrote on his X account in a message relayed through his lawyers.

Imamoglu, who was detained in an unannounced raid on his Istanbul home on March 19, is being investigated in two separate cases involving corruption charges and links to terrorists.

The 53-year-old, who was re-elected last year, is due to be announced as the main opposition CHP party's candidate for the 2028 presidential race.

In his message, Imamoglu addresses Erdogan without naming him, saying, "You are taking aim at my entire existence, my work and the enterprise that my family and I have built over three generations."

He also called on the public to speak out against injustice.

"As a nation, we must unite against this evil," he said. | BGNES