Turkish Court Orders Victory Party Leader Held on Charges of Inciting Hatred

Umit Ozdag, leader of the Victory Party in Turkey, has been ordered to be held in custody pending trial on charges of inciting public hatred, a Turkish court has ruled, Al Jazeera reports.

The decision comes after Ozdag was initially detained on Monday for allegedly insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Ozdag’s detention stemmed from comments in which he reportedly said that “even crusades had not done as much damage to Turkiye as Erdogan has.” While the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s office initially released Ozdag from custody on the insult charges, they subsequently ordered his arrest for “inciting hatred and hostility among the public,” according to the Victory Party.

Prosecutors are reportedly using 11 of Ozdag’s posts on the social media platform X as evidence. Furthermore, the prosecutor’s office holds Ozdag responsible for riots against Syrian refugees last year in Kayseri, where hundreds of homes and businesses were attacked.

Ozdag, a 63-year-old former academic and a vocal critic of Turkiye’s refugee policies, has advocated for the repatriation of millions of Syrian refugees. Following his arrest, he posted on X, stating that his detention was an attempt to silence not only himself but also those who oppose recent events in the country

The arrest has drawn condemnation from opposition leaders, with Ozgur Ozel, the leader of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), calling the decision “a murder of justice” and a destruction of both democracy and judicial independence. Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu also protested, describing the arrest as a clear intervention of politics in the judiciary.