Turkish police have arrested 40 people in the opposition-run municipality of Istanbul, including the mayor of the central district of Beyoglu and several of his close advisers, Turkish media reported.

The new wave of arrests for "corruption" is a continuation of months of arrests targeting the Republican People's Party (CHP), Turkey's main opposition force.

Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, considered President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's biggest opponent, was arrested in March and immediately jailed.

His arrest sparked protests the country hadn't seen in 12 years.

In addition to Imamoglu, nine of the 26 CHP mayors in Istanbul's districts have been arrested and jailed since October, most on corruption charges, which they deny.

According to analysts, the government is trying to weaken the CHP, which emerged as the big winner in the local elections in the spring of 2024, to the detriment of President Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP). | BGNES, AFP