ISTANBUL (AP) — Police used pepper spray, plastic pellets and water cannon against protesters in Turkey’s capital early Thursday, the latest clash in the country’s biggest anti-government protests in over a decade.

The head of Turkey’s main opposition party has visited jailed Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu after six nights of massive protests calling for his release.

President Erdogan is calculating he can ride out the upheaval caused by the arrest of his top rival, Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu.

Critics say the arrest of Istanbul's mayor is part of a mounting crackdown by Turkey's president to silence all dissent.

The rally, which begins at 0900 GMT in Maltepe on the Asian side of Istanbul, is the first such CHP-led gathering since Tuesday and comes on the eve of the Eid al-Fitr celebration marking the end of Ramadan,

Turkey's opposition on Sunday worked to keep up the momentum of the protest movement triggered by the arrest of Istanbul's mayor after a giant weekend rally, with a Swedish reporter

Imamoglu was detained following a raid on his residence earlier this week, sparking the largest wave of street demonstrations in Turkey in more than a decade. It also deepened concerns, among Turks and outside Turkey,

The mayor of Istanbul is President Erdogan's most serious rival and was about to be selected as an opposition candidate in presidential elections. Shortly before that could happen, Ekrem Imamoglu was arrested.