A Turkish court jailed Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu on Sunday pending trial, CNN affiliate CNN Turk reported, as mass protests have broken out across the country against his detention over allegations of corruption and terrorism ties.

An Istanbul court ordered the arrest of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s top rival on corruption charges, according to state-run media and a copy of the decision viewed by The Wall Street Journal,

Only last week, its government was still what political scientists call a competitive authoritarian regime: although President Recep Tayyip Erdogan wields unchecked executive powers and de facto control over the courts and most of the media,