Ekrem Imamoglu's first reaction to the initial verdict

The Istanbul prosecutor's office announced on Sunday morning that Ekrem Imamoglu, the mayor of Istanbul and a potential opponent of Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the upcoming elections, has been convicted in the corruption case.

According to the verdict read by the prosecutor's office, Imamoglu was found guilty and will be transferred to prison.

It should be noted that Imamoglu was not found guilty in the other indictment, which is supporting terrorism, but a judicial supervision order was issued for him.

A few hours before the news was published, Imamoglu's office announced that Turkish prosecutors had asked the court to try him and four of his aides on terrorism and corruption charges.

Turkish state media and television channels announced that the Istanbul court's decision to detain Imamoglu is likely to fuel the biggest protests in more than a decade in the country.

In his first reaction to the ruling, Imamoglu posted a post on his social media account, implicitly targeting Erdogan, saying: "Fear is the brother of death! You will lose anyway."

Imamoglu emphasized: "You will be defeated in the face of our righteousness, courage, humility and smiling face! My dear nation! Do not be sad, do not despair. We will clean up this coup against democracy and the stain of shame together."

In another part of his statement, he called on all Turkish citizens to come to the polls to defend democracy and justice and defend their ideals.