Ümit Özdağ, the leader of Turkey’s anti-immigration Victory Party (Zafer Partisi), was released from prison on Monday after being sentenced to 2 years and 4 months for “inciting hatred and enmity among the public.” Though convicted, it is unlikely that Özdağ will serve a prison sentence; however, he faces a potential lifetime ban from politics. Meanwhile, Istanbul’s jailed mayor and main opposition party’s presidential candidate, Ekrem İmamoğlu, remains in custody following his second hearing on Monday.
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| Turkish ultranationalist leader released after conviction |
Özdağ’s arrest earlier this year and the controversial nature of the case have reignited debate over freedom of expression and the selective use of Turkey’s penal code against opposition figures. Özdağ was arrested in January, a day after delivering a provocative speech at a party meeting where he claimed:
“No Crusade in the last thousand years has harmed the Turkish nation and state as much as Erdoğan and the AKP have.”
Prosecutors charged Özdağ under Article 216 of the Turkish Penal Code, accusing him of “inciting hatred and enmity” and “insulting the President.” The case cited not only his remarks about President Erdoğan but also a series of social media posts allegedly linked to people associated with his Zafer Party.
Özdağ strongly denied any connection to the posts, arguing that they were not his and that the prosecution relied on an unsigned, unstamped report supposedly prepared by the Kayseri Police Department. “There is no legal basis for this,” he said during his final hearing. “These are not my words, and there is no evidence tying me to these accounts. Not even the Spanish Inquisition could have prosecuted a case like this.”
He also noted that some of the social media posts cited by prosecutors had already been dismissed in earlier investigations. “You can’t create a crime out of tweets that have been cleared,” he argued. “If a former party member shares something illegal, am I supposed to be held responsible for it?”
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| Turkish ultranationalist leader released after conviction |
İmamoğlu still in custody
Özdağ’s release coincided with another high-profile court appearance: Istanbul’s opposition mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, a leading figure in the secular Republican People’s Party (CHP), remains jailed pending trial on charges related to public criticism of a chief prosecutor. If convicted, İmamoğlu could face a political ban—a move that the opposition argues would eliminate a key rival to President Erdoğan in future elections.
Both cases have underscored what many view as the erosion of constitutional norms in Turkey. Although the country’s constitution guarantees freedom of speech and due process, opposition leaders, journalists, and academics have increasingly found themselves entangled in legal proceedings widely seen as politically motivated.
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Release amid constitutional debate
Though the court ultimately found Özdağ guilty, it ordered his release, sparking celebration among his supporters, who had been holding daily vigils outside the Silivri Prison complex near Istanbul. Many see his release as a partial victory, but the ruling has done little to ease concerns about the direction of Turkey’s judiciary.
Medyascope'u destekle. Medyascope'a abone ol.
Medyascope’u senin desteğin ayakta tutuyor. Hiçbir patronun, siyasi çıkarın güdümünde değiliz; hangi haberi yapacağımıza biz karar veriyoruz. Tıklanma uğruna değil, kamu yararına çalışıyoruz. Bağımsız gazeteciliğin sürmesi, sitenin açık kalması ve herkesin doğru bilgiye erişebilmesi senin desteğinle mümkün.
Upon exiting the prison, Özdağ delivered a defiant statement, declaring that the trial was a politically motivated attempt to silence him. “None of our constitutional rights are safe,” he said. He also revealed that he had spent five months in solitary confinement, which he described as a form of psychological punishment.
Özdağ announced that he will appeal the conviction, vowing to take the case to higher courts, including Turkey’s Court of Cassation. “This decision will not stand,” he said. “The truth will come out.”
Özdağ’s controversial politics
Although Özdağ’s Victory Party is a firm opponent of Erdoğan’s ruling AKP-MHP coalition, he has also frequently targeted İmamoğlu’s party, CHP, with sharp criticism. In fact, Özdağ positions himself as a key opposition figure who challenges nearly all major political forces in Turkey.
Though the Victory Party holds no seats in parliament, Özdağ has made a name for himself through his fierce ultranationalist and anti-immigrant rhetoric, particularly against Syrian refugees. A former academic and one-time interior ministerial candidate, he appeals to a segment of the electorate anxious about migration and national identity. His party’s rising profile has pressured more mainstream parties to adopt harder nationalist tones in recent elections.
However, his rhetoric has also earned him accusations of hate speech, and his arrest was welcomed by some as a necessary response to inflammatory politics. Still, rights groups and legal experts have voiced concern over the vague and often arbitrary application of Article 216, which has increasingly been used to prosecute critics of the government.
