Turkish police detained 13 people under an investigation into a 2023 congress of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), state media said on Saturday, after a court ruling this week ousted the party's leader Ozgur Ozel, inflaming a political crisis.

The ruling marks a major escalation in the legal crackdown on the CHP, which has already been hit by the imprisonment of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, its presidential candidate.

Court ruling removes current CHP leader Ozgur Ozel and reinstates former leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu