11.06.2025 16:51
Ümit Özdağ, the leader of the Victory Party, 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. In the prosecutor's opinion, it was requested that Özdağ be sentenced to imprisonment ranging from 1.5 to 4 years. The court decided to continue Özdağ's detention and postponed the hearing to June 17.
The leader of the Victory Party, Ümit Özdağ, was detained in Ankara one day after his remarks directed at President Erdoğan during the party's Provincial Presidents Consultation Meeting in Antalya on January 19, where he stated, "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, who was brought to the Istanbul Police Department and then taken to the Istanbul Courthouse, was arrested on charges of "publicly inciting hatred and hostility."
FIRST HEARING HELD ON APRIL 29
Özdağ's case was separated on February 17. The first hearing of Özdağ, who was charged with "insulting the president" and faces a prison sentence of up to 4 years and 8 months, was held on April 29 at the 35th Criminal Court of First Instance in Çağlayan, Istanbul.
HE APPEARED BEFORE THE JUDGE FOR THE FIRST TIME TODAY
The first hearing of the case in which Özdağ is detained for "publicly inciting hatred and hostility" was held today. The prosecutor, who presented his opinion, requested a prison sentence of 1.5 to 4 years for Ümit Özdağ.
DECISION MADE TO CONTINUE DETENTION
The court decided to continue Ümit Özdağ's detention and postponed the hearing to June 17.
HIS STATEMENT EMERGED
For the first time in a long time, Ümit Özdağ, the leader of the Victory Party, appeared in the courtroom, stating in his defense that he did not incite the public to hatred and hostility, and 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 stated 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, of which he is the leader, 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 on all these issues. The issues I mentioned are matters I have worked on for years and are my area of expertise. If I had not made these warnings, I would have acted unlawfully," 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 of my posts that incite hatred and hostility. However, the prosecution has found it acceptable to show X, who was not prosecuted 8 months before the preparation of the indictment by Oğuzhan Kumpınar, as X in the investigation. Likewise, it is also unacceptable that the prosecution did not include my posts that are in my favor in the indictment while including those that it thought were against me.
"I HOPE YOUR RULING REPRESENTS THE CONSCIENCE OF THE NATION AND JUSTICE"
Throughout my speech, I explained that I advocated 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, by presenting evidence. Again, throughout my speech, I demonstrated with evidence that I fought against those who incite, those who try to provoke, rather than inciting, demonizing, and provoking; that I filed lawsuits and made criminal complaints. Because for years, I have been fighting against the imperialism that carries out 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 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 judgment is yours; justice belongs to Allah. I hope that the judgment you will give on behalf of the Turkish nation represents the conscience of the nation and justice."
FROM THE INDICTMENT
In the indictment prepared by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, the Ministry of Interior's Directorate General of Migration Management and the Ministry of Interior's General Directorate of Legal Services are listed as "whistleblowers."
The indictment states that the defendant Özdağ made 34 posts on different dates on his social media account containing disinformation about Syrians and other groups of refugees, and that these posts were denied by the relevant authorities.
It is noted in the indictment that Özdağ's words and statements in his social media posts contained expressions aimed at exhibiting inciting attitudes and behaviors, and that these posts were of a nature to direct a segment of the public against another segment, inciting hatred and hostility, and requiring discrimination.
The indictment refers to a report prepared by the Kayseri Security Branch Directorate on January 21, stating that it was evaluated that the individuals participating in the events were influenced by the posts made on social media by Victory Party members and supporters.
The indictment emphasizes that Özdağ's posts were effective in the formation of the events that occurred in Kayseri, and that the concrete element of the crime in question has also occurred, indicating that there is sufficient suspicion of the crime attributed to the suspect, as he continued to make posts that are of a nature to incite hatred and discrimination between August 18 and December 24, 2024.
In the indictment, it is requested that Özdağ be sentenced to imprisonment for a period ranging from 1 year, 10 months, and 15 days to 7 years, 10 months, and 15 days for the crime of "inciting or humiliating the public to hatred and hostility" through the press and media in a chain manner, and it is also requested that the provision of Article 53 of the Turkish Penal Code, which involves "deprivation of certain rights," be applied against him.