Thousands rally in Istanbul to support mayor facing ouster
Thousands of people have rallied outside the Istanbul municipal building for a second day to denounce a legal verdict that could lead to the city’s popular mayor getting ousted from office and barred from running in elections ISTANBUL -- Thousands of people gathered outside the Istanbul municipal building for a second day on Thursday to denounce a legal verdict that could lead to the city’s popular mayor being ousted from office and barred from running in elections next year. An Istanbul court on Wednesday convicted Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, 52, of insulting members of Turkey’s Supreme Electoral Council. The court sentenced him to two years and seven months in prison and imposed a political ban. Opposition parties, which have questioned the independence of the courts under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s increasingly authoritarian rule, allege Imamoglu's prosecution and trial were an attempt to eliminate a key opponent to the Turkish leader. The mayor plans to appeal the verdi...