ISTANBUL — A court in Turkey sentenced the mayor of Istanbul, the country’s most populous city, to two years and seven months in prison Wednesday on charges of insulting members of Turkey’s Supreme Electoral Council.His win was a historic blow to Erdogan and the president’s Justice and Development Party, which had controlled Istanbul for a quarter-century.The mayor denied insulting members of the electoral council, insisting his words were a response to Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu calling him “a fool” and accusing Imamoglu of criticizing Turkey during a visit to the European Parliament.Thousands gathered in front of the municipality building to denounce the verdict against the popular mayor, shouting “Rights, Law, Justice!” and calling on the government and Erdogan to resign.“Either before or after this event, or even on May 6 (2019) when the elections were canceled, I did not hear any negative words from Ekrem Imamoglu concerning the (Supreme Electoral Council) members,” the T24 news website cited Ongun as saying."