A Turkish court has formally placed Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu under arrest pending trial on corruption charges, days after his detention triggered mass protests across the country.

The court’s decision on Sunday to send Imamoglu to prison comes after the main opposition party, European leaders and tens of thousands of protesters criticised the actions against him as politicised.

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The court said Imamoglu and at least 20 others were jailed as part of a corruption investigation. A separate ruling on a terror-related investigation has yet to be issued.

The mayor, a key opposition figure and potential challenger to longtime President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was detained on Wednesday by the government for alleged corruption and “terrorism”.

Imamoglu has denied all the charges describing them as part of a “smear campaign”.

Heavy security was reported outside of the court, where the Istanbul mayor appeared on Sunday.

Al Jazeera’s Sinem Koseoglu, who is reporting from Istanbul, said that several other people who were also charged were ordered released pending trial.

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“We are still waiting for the judge to rule on the terrorism file. There are fewer people charged, so the process will be shorter than expected,” our correspondent said, adding that the decision will likely come before noon.

Our correspondent also said that security measures were tightened in Istanbul since Saturday evening ahead of possible protests on Sunday.

“Despite a protest ban, which was extended until March 26, demonstrations have been going on, including in Istanbul, Ankara and about 50 other cities last night.”

Police said at least 300,000 people protested in Istanbul on Saturday night. The opposition claimed the number was closer to a million people.

The court decision on Sunday also comes as the Turkish opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) members and others head to polling stations for a primary election endorse Imamoglu as candidate for the next presidential election.

The CHP has called for non-party members to vote to boost public resistance following Imamoglu’s detention.

CHP, which has more than 1.5 million members, set up 5,600 ballot boxes for voting across all of Turkey’s 81 provinces. Polls will close at 1400 GMT.

The next presidential election is scheduled to be held in 2028.