“Democracy Watch” for Imamoglu

A group of Turkish citizens has launched a “Democracy Watch” at Istanbul's Sarachane Square on Monday to show solidarity to Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu following a court decision of convicting him to prison sentence.

The group announced the aim of the gathering as “protecting the democracy, the republic and the votes” they have casted for Imamoglu via social media.

The “Democracy Watch” will continue every night for a month, they said, calling on all who shares their goal to join them.

Nöbetin birinci gününü tamamladık. Yarın da buradayız, yılbaşında da, sonrasında da. Görüp gelen, destek olan herkese çok teşekkür ediyorum. Yarından itibaren herkesi bekliyoruz, lütfen gelin ve cumhuriyetimize sahip çıkın. pic.twitter.com/rEjbcvlWSG

— Ali Gül (@avaligul) December 26, 2022

A Turkish court on Dec.14 has sentenced Imamoglu to 2 years, 7 months and 15 days in prison on charges of insulting the members of a top election board. The court also banned him from politics, a decision which needs to be finalized by the supreme court in order to be implemented.