Thousands rally in Istanbul to support mayor facing ouster

ISTANBUL (AP) — Thousands of people have gathered for a rally outside the Istanbul municipal building for a second day to denounce a legal verdict that could lead to the city’s popular mayor getting ousted from office and barred from running in elections. An Istanbul court convicted Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu on Wednesday of insulting members of Turkey’s Supreme Electoral Council. It sentenced him to prison and imposed a political ban. The mayor plans to appeal the verdict. Opposition parties allege the trial is an attempt to eliminate a key opponent to the Turkish leader. An alliance of six parties that are expected to nominate a candidate to run against Erdogan next year were taking part in Thursday’s rally.