TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – TPP supporters confronted police in Taipei on Saturday during a protest against the detention of party founder Ko Wen-je (柯文哲).

The former Taipei mayor and presidential candidate has been detained since August last year amid corruption allegations. The protesters alleged he was the victim of political persecution by the governing DPP.

When TPP Chair Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) led protesters in the direction of the Presidential Office, they found police had blocked the street, arguing the marchers were breaking the Assembly and Parade Act. Protesters started chanting calls to abolish the act, per CNA.

The TPP said it organized the event to call for an end to political persecution and to restore justice to the country. Huang and party supporters, including Ko’s wife and mother, gathered near Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei from 7 a.m. Saturday.

The day marked the first anniversary of the first search by prosecutors of an opposition party’s headquarters and of its leader’s home in Taiwan’s history, Huang said. He called for judicial reforms, including strengthening the confidentiality of investigations and the independence of the judiciary.

Prosecutors have requested a prison sentence of 28 years and six months for Ko. During his period as mayor of Taipei, he allegedly accepted bribes from a developer to allow the expansion of the floor area ratio of the Core Pacific City project.