Turkish far-right leader arrested over ‘public incitement to hatred and enmity’

Duvar English

Turkish far-right Victory Party (ZP) Chair Ümit Özdağ was arrested on Jan. 21 on charges of "public incitement to hatred and enmity."

A separate investigation into Özdağ was launched on Jan. 19 for "insulting the president" based on remarks he made about President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan during a party meeting. 

During his speech, Özdağ accused President Erdoğan of "turning the Turkish nation into deists, atheists, and Christians." 

He was detained on Jan. 20 as part of this investigation. Prosecutors referred Özdağ for arrest, citing a 2022 social media post as part of the justification.

In his post, Özdağ had criticized then-Minister of Interior Süleyman Soylu's video showing housing projects for Syrians in Syria, claiming that "governorates were instructed to allocate local budgets to these houses. The Ordu Governor diverted 8 million Turkish liras meant for its citizens to Syria. Before the election, they plan to send some Syrians to Idlib as a show and sustain them there."

The prosecution argued that Özdağ's statements demonstrated "provocative attitudes and behaviors." They also referenced the leader's potential influence during unrest in Kayseri province last year, where a Syrian national was accused of harassing a young girl, an incident that escalated tensions and violence towards the refugees.

Özdağ and his party have built their platform on anti-refugee and nationalist rhetoric in recent years, intensifying this approach during the 2023 general elections, where the party secured 2.23 percent of the votes.

Özdağ was arrested by the court on the grounds of “flight risk and insufficiently gathered evidence.”

His supporters clashed with the police in front of the courthouse for a while after they were prevented from approaching the building.

The charge against Özdağ carries a prison sentence of one to three years under Article 216 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK).

According to the article, "Anyone who openly incites one segment of society to hatred and hostility against another based on differences in social class, race, religion, sect, or region, thereby creating an explicit and imminent danger to public safety, shall be sentenced to imprisonment from one to three years."