Istanbul mayor held, charged with graft

ISTANBUL, Mar 23 (BBC): The main rival to Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been formally arrested and charged with corruption.

Ekrem Imamoglu, the mayor of the Turkish city of Istanbul, is expected to be selected as the opposition Republican People's Party's (CHP) 2028 presidential candidate in a ballot on Sunday.

He denies the allegations and says they are politically motivated. "I will never bow", he was quoted as saying after being remanded in custody pending trial.

His detention has sparked off some of the largest protests in more than a decade.