In Turkey, thousands of people flooded the streets of Istanbul Thursday to protest the conviction of the city’s elected mayor on what his supporters say are trumped-up charges.

Aslihan Gulhan: “We came here today so we can continue to live in a country governed by the rule of law. We think the law has been violated. We came here to defend our rights and the votes of Istanbul residents.”

Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu was found guilty Wednesday of insulting public officials and sentenced to two years and seven months in prison. He remains free pending an appeal. If his conviction is upheld, Imamoglu will be removed as mayor and barred from running in next year’s elections, where he’s seen as a challenger to Turkey’s authoritarian president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.