Turkey’s main opposition leader on Wednesday called Istanbul’s jailed mayor Ekrem Imamoglu “innocent,” describing the indictment against him is “totally empty.”

Republican People's Party leader Ozgur Ozel made the comments at a rally in Istanbul.

A prominent opposition figure, Mayor Imamoglu is widely seen as a key rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

He was arrested in March along with several municipal officials who were accused of running a criminal organization, accepting bribes, extortion and bid-rigging.

He has strongly denied all allegations.

The jailed mayor has been accused of 142 offenses tied to corruption and organized crime, and could face a total prison sentence exceeding 2,000 years.

Istanbul’s chief public prosecutor filed a sweeping indictment against Imamoglu on Tuesday.

Critics view the accusations as a politically motivated effort to weaken the main opposition.

Imamoglu's arrest triggered the largest wave of public demonstrations in Turkey in over a decade.

Chief Prosecutor Akın Gurlek said the indictment is 3,900 pages and names 402 suspects, including Imamoglu as the chief suspect, according to Turkish media reports.