Tens of thousands of people gathered in Istanbul to protest against the jailing of Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's main rival, sustaining the largest demonstrations Turkey has seen in more than a decade. The main opposition, the Republican People's Party (CHP), other opposition parties, rights groups, and Western powers have all said the case against Imamoglu is a politicized effort to eliminate a potential electoral threat to Erdogan. The government denies any influence over the judiciary and says the courts are independent.