Turkish authorities announced the release of the lawyer of Istanbul's imprisoned mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu, the main political rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, after his detention last Thursday.

Imamoglu, a member of the Republican People's Party (CHP), who leads Erdogan in some opinion polls, was imprisoned on Sunday pending trial on corruption charges. This sparked the largest anti-government protests in nearly a decade, which led to widespread arrests in various parts of the country, according to the agency.