From the Liveblog of
Thursday, December 15, 2022
Thousands rally in Turkey after Erdogan rival banned from politics
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Thousands of Turks swarm a central Istanbul square in solidarity with the city’s opposition mayor after he was banned from politics ahead of next year’s presidential election.
A criminal court on Wednesday sentenced Ekrem Imamoglu to more than two years in prison and banned him from politics for the same length of time for “insulting a public official” in 2019.
Imamoglu will continue to serve as mayor of Turkey’s largest city while his appeal is heard in a case linked to a hugely contested election in which his initial victory was annulled.
The appeal could be heard at any time and destroy any bid to run in the June presidential campaign.
The US State Department said it was “deeply troubled and disappointed” by the potential removal of one of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s biggest rivals from the political scene.
The Times of Israel Community.