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LONDON, March 27, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Britain on Thursday urged Turkey's government to uphold the rule of law after the arrest of Istanbul's popular opposition mayor triggered mass protests.

"Because we share a strong and important relationship with Turkey, and as with all our allies, we expect the upholding of shared international commitments and the rule of law, including timely and transparent judicial processes," a foreign ministry spokesperson said in a statement emailed to AFP.

"Around the world we support democracy, the fundamental rights to freedom of speech, peaceful assembly and media freedom."

Turkey has cracked down on media coverage of the demonstrations since the arrest of Ekrem Imamoglu, deporting a BBC journalist and imposing a 10-day broadcast ban on an opposition TV channel.

Imamoglu is Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's biggest political rival.

Britain's foreign ministry has updated its travel advice for Turkey, urging Britons to avoid crowds and demonstrations, which erupted on March 19.

Defying a protest ban, vast crowds have hit the streets daily, with the nightly rallies often descending into running battles with riot police, whose crackdowns have drawn international condemnation.

Earlier on Thursday, Turkey deported BBC journalist Mark Lowen who had been covering the protests on grounds he posed "a threat to public order", the British broadcaster said.

AFP photographer Yasin Akgul, who was arrested this week covering the unrest was freed Thursday from an Istanbul jail, AFP correspondents said, though his lawyer said charges against him remain.