ISTANBUL >> 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 demonstrations began last week following the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, a key rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Imamoglu was jailed pending trial on corruption charges many see as politically motivated and is also accused of supporting terrorism. The government insists the judiciary is independent, but critics say the evidence in Imamoglu’s case is based on secret witnesses and lacks credibility.

Early Thursday, student demonstrators tried to march and gathered to read a statement near the gates at Middle East Technical University, pro-opposition broadcaster Halk TV and local media reported. They were met by security forces who deployed pepper spray, water cannon and plastic pellets. A standoff ensued where the students hid behind a barricade of dumpsters until the police charged to detain them.

Melih Meric, a legislator with Imamoglu’s Republican People’s Party or CHP, was seen soaked with water and suffering from pepper spray exposure.

“My student friends only wanted to make a press statement, but the police strictly did not allow it, this is the result,” Meric said in social media videos.

Imamoglu’s lawyer, Mehmet Pehlivan, who has represented him in multiple cases and in proceedings following his arrest, was detained late Thursday, according to a post on Imamoglu’s social media account. No formal charges were immediately announced.

“There is no end to lies or slander in the prohibitionist mind,” Imamoglu wrote on X. “This time, my lawyer Mehmet Pehlivan was detained on fictitious grounds. As if the coup against democracy was not enough, they cannot tolerate the victims of this coup defending themselves. They want to add a legal coup to the coup against democracy. The evil that a handful of incompetent people are inflicting on our country is growing. Release my lawyer immediately.”

Opposition leaning Cumhuriyer newspaper reported that Pehlivan was taken to the Vatan central precinct in Istanbul.

Interior Minister Ali Yerkikaya said Thursday that nearly 1,900 people have been arrested over eight days of massive protests across the country. He said that 1,879 suspects were detained, including 260 who were jailed pending trial. A further 468 were released under judicial control while their cases continue. Proceedings are ongoing for 662 other people.

The minister said some faced charges for drug offenses and assault, adding that 150 police officers had been injured. He did not specify the nature of other charges but offenses such as resisting police and not complying with a ban on protests and gatherings have been cited previously.

Demonstrations involving hundreds of thousands of largely peaceful protesters have swept across major cities, including opposition-organized rallies outside Istanbul City Hall.