Istanbul’s mayor in court for mass trial decried as politically motivated

Supporters shout slogans in support of Ekrem İmamoğlu at a prison west of Istanbul. The jailed mayor has gone on trial accused of corruption. Photograph: Dilara Acikgoz/AP

A mass trial of 400 people including the jailed mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem İmamoğlu, has opened in Turkey in a sprawling corruption case critics say is a politically motivated attempt to thwart his chances of challenging Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for the presidency.

İmamoğlu entered the courtroom in Istanbul to cheers and whistles from members of his opposition Republican People’s party (CHP), and there were reports that a group of lawyers chanted: “We want a fair trial.”