11.06.2025 15:21
The leader of the Victory Party, Ümit Özdağ, who has been detained for 142 days on the charge of "publicly inciting hatred and hostility," appeared before a judge for the first time today. During the hearing held at the Istanbul 18th Criminal Court of First Instance, the prosecutor presented their opinion, requesting a prison sentence of 1.5 to 4 years for Özdağ. A 15-minute break was given in the hearing.
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Victory Party leader Ümit Özdağ was detained in Ankara one day after his remarks directed at President Erdoğan during his party's Provincial Presidents Consultation Meeting in Antalya on January 19, stating, "No Crusade in the last thousand years has caused as much harm to the Turkish nation and the Turkish state as Erdoğan and the AK Party have." Özdağ was brought to the Istanbul Police Department and then taken to the Istanbul Courthouse, where he was arrested on charges of "publicly inciting hatred and hostility."
THE FIRST HEARING WAS HELD ON APRIL 29
Özdağ's case was separated on February 17. He was charged with "insulting the president" and faced a prison sentence of up to 4 years and 8 months. The first hearing of this case was held on April 29 at the 35th Criminal Court of First Instance in Çağlayan, Istanbul.
HE APPEARED BEFORE THE JUDGE TODAY
The first hearing of the case in which Özdağ is detained for "publicly inciting hatred and hostility" is being held today. The prosecutor, who presented his opinion, requested a prison sentence of 1.5 to 4 years for Ümit Özdağ. A 15-minute break was given during the hearing.
HIS STATEMENT HAS EMERGED
For the first time in a long time, Victory Party Chairman Ümit Özdağ appeared in front of the cameras in the courtroom and stated in his defense that he did not incite the public to hatred and hostility. He mentioned that during the Kayseri incidents, for which he was accused of incitement, he made posts on social media to calm the events. Özdağ noted that he was attacked and insulted by many troll accounts due to these posts and emphasized that all his actions were in accordance with the law.
"I HAVE NOT COMMITTED ANY CRIME AGAINST THE TURKISH NATION AND THE TURKISH STATE"
Özdağ stated that he and the Victory Party believe that the United Nations and the European Union have done great injustice to Turkey regarding migration and that they have protested against this injustice. He said, "Our country is under pressure from millions of refugees and illegal immigrants coming from Syria and Afghanistan through strategic migration engineering on one hand, and millions of foreigners coming from various countries, especially Africa and Pakistan, due to global warming on the other. This pressure can be categorized under economic, demographic, sociological, cultural pressures and threats. I expressed the economic burden that refugees and illegal immigrants impose on our country's economy. All the warnings I have made to the public so far were aimed at raising awareness among our people regarding all these issues. The matters I mentioned are the subjects I have worked on for years and are my area of expertise. If I had not made these warnings, I would have acted contrary to the law," he said.
In his defense, Ümit Özdağ stated: "I have dedicated my entire life academically and politically to the security and welfare of the Turkish nation and to making the Republic of Turkey a strong country. I have trained thousands of students. I have taught hundreds of police officers and military personnel. I have conducted academic and political studies to identify threats to my country and nation and to propose solutions. I have not committed any crime against the Turkish nation and the Turkish state. The prosecution examined all my X posts, my Instagram posts, and even my videos for 78 days over a period of 4 years. None of my statements included in the indictment by the prosecutor constitute a crime as defined in Article 216 of the Turkish Penal Code, in the justification of the article, and in the Supreme Court precedents. The prosecutor has no crime. It is impossible for him to find any post that incites hatred and enmity because I do not have such a post. However, the prosecution has found it acceptable to show X, who received a non-prosecution decision 8 months before the preparation of the indictment, as X in the investigation. Likewise, it is also unacceptable that the prosecution did not include my X posts, which they thought were in my favor, in the indictment.
"I HOPE YOUR VERDICT REPRESENTS THE CONSCIENCE OF THE NATION AND JUSTICE"
Throughout my speech, I stated that I advocate for the safe return of Syrians and illegal immigrants under temporary protection in our country to their countries in accordance with international law and our national law. Again, throughout my speech, I demonstrated with evidence that I have fought against those who incite, demonize, and provoke, rather than inciting; that I have opened lawsuits and made criminal complaints. Because for years, I have been fighting against the imperialism that implements Strategic Migration Engineering, which destabilizes our country. And unfortunately, I am the only politician in the world who has been arrested for opposing uncontrolled migration to my country in this age of global migration.
The reason for my presence here, the lawsuit filed against me for the accusation of insulting the president, and the preparation of 11 indictments by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office on January 21 is my criticism of the negotiations with the head of the PKK terrorist organization, A. Öcalan. It is my belief that the PKK terrorist organization cannot be trusted. It is my assertion that the PKK should only be addressed when it kneels and says, 'I surrender.' The whole world and the great Turkish nation know this truth. History will record it this way. A hundred years from now, history books will not say, 'Ümit Özdağ was tried for inciting events in Kayseri.' They will say, 'He was tried for saying do not trust the PKK, do not change the Constitution.' In light of all this information, the verdict is yours; justice belongs to Allah. I hope that the verdict you will give on behalf of the Turkish nation represents the conscience of the nation and justice.
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