Sawt Falasteen - Turkey braces for day three of protests over Istanbul mayor's arrest

Imamoglu, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's main political rival, was arrested at dawn on Wednesday, just days before he was due to be named the candidate for the main opposition CHP party in the 2028 presidential election.

His party has denounced the detention as a "coup" and has vowed to keep up the demonstrations, which by Thursday night had spread to at least 32 of Turkey's 81 provinces, according to an AFP count.

Opposition leader Ozgur Ozel urged people across Turkey to hit the streets at 1730 GMT after the end of the daily Ramadan fast, despite warnings from the justice minister that such calls were "unlawful and unacceptable".

Thousands have defied a protest ban in Istanbul, gathering nightly outside City Hall in support of the mayor, with the authorities on Friday extending the ban to the capital Ankara and the western coastal city of Izmir.

Police initially showed restraint in handling the protests but on Thursday, they fired rubber bullets and teargas as they scuffled with students in Istanbul, AFP correspondents said.

And in Ankara, riot police used pepper gas, rubber bullets and water canon to disperse a crowd of around 1,500 people, another correspondent said.

Police have arrested at least 88 protesters, Turkish media said, updating an earlier figure of 53 from Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya, who also said 16 police officers had been hurt.

He also said police had detained another 54 people for online posts deemed as "incitement to hatred".

- Erdogan snubs 'opposition drama' -

Speaking late Thursday, Erdogan shrugged off the unrest -- Turkey's worst street protests in years.

"The opposition's efforts to present its problems with the law as the country's biggest problem are the height of hypocrisy," he said.

Turkey, he said, "has no time to waste on the opposition's dramas".

But Ozel on Thursday warned Erdogan the protests would continue.

"From now on, no-one should expect CHP to do politics in halls or buildings, we'll be on the streets and in the squares," he said, addressing the Turkish leader by name.

The pro-Kurdish opposition DEM party also said it would join Friday's evening rally in Istanbul.

Writing on X, Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc on Friday warned that calling for street protests was illegal.

"Calls for street protests based on ongoing judicial investigations are unlawful and unacceptable. Those in positions of responsibility should show more caution," he wrote.

During Wednesday's raids, police rounded up 106 people in all, the vast majority in connection with the graft probe, and began questioning them on Thursday.

There was still no confirmation of when Imamoglu would be questioned, but media reports said he would be the last, with all suspects due to appear in court on Sunday.

- CHP: primary to go ahead -

Despite Imamoglu's detention, the CHP vowed it would press ahead with its primary on Sunday at which it would formally nominate him as its candidate for the 2028 race.

The party said it would open the process to anyone who wanted to vote, not just party members, saying: "Come to the ballot box and say 'no' to the coup attempt!"

Observers said the government could seek to block the primary to prevent a further show of support for Imamgolu.

"If a large number of people show up and vote for Imamoglu, it will further legitimise him domestically," Gonul Tol, head of the Turkish studies programme at the Washington-based Middle East Institute, told AFP.

"It could really move things in a direction that Erdogan doesn't want."

By Friday morning, the restrictions on social media and internet access that had been in place since Imamoglu's arrest were lifted, according to internet access monitor EngelliWeb.

The move against Imamoglu has sent Turkey's financial markets into a tailspin, dealing a heavy blow to the Turkish lira.

L.AbuAli--SF-PST