Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, a potential challenger to Turkey's longtime conservative President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, appeared in court on Saturday, charged with corruption and terrorism through alleged links to Kurdish militants.

Turkish prosecutors early on Sunday urged Imamoglu and four aides be jailed on the charges.

Imamoglu was detained on Wednesday, along with dozens of other prominent figures, including two district mayors.

Public protests have erupted in more than a dozen cities in response to the arrests. Many view Imamoglu's detention as as a politically-driven attempt to remove one of Erdogan's key rivals in the next presidential race, scheduled for 2028.