A plea by the far-right Victory Party (ZP) for the release of its leader Ümit Özdağ was rejected by an Istanbul court, the party announced Tuesday.
Özdağ was arrested on Jan. 21 on charges of inciting hatred shortly after an investigation opened against him on charges of insulting the president. He is being held in custody in a prison in Istanbul. A social media post on the party’s official account said lawyers appealed to a higher court for his release on Jan. 30.
The prosecutor’s office in Istanbul, which issued the arrest warrant for Özdağ, singled out the ZP for its alleged role in inciting riots last summer in the central province of Kayseri. Dozens of foreign-owned shops and homes were torched and damaged by a mob after reports of sexual abuse of a 7-year-old child by a Syrian national. A statement by the prosecutor’s office said Özdağ’s ZP influenced the mob behind the riots, especially through social media. Although Özdağ failed to gather crowds in the ZP’s rallies, social media proved a fertile ground to recruit youth to his far-right cause. In response to allegations, Özdağ told the court, which ordered him remanded in custody, that he urged people to “return home” after riots broke out in Kayseri and claimed the ZP had no role in inciting riots.
Long before the Kayseri riots, Özdağ was behind a campaign in the aftermath of the February 2023 earthquakes that claimed thousands of lives in Türkiye’s south, especially provinces with a relatively large Syrian refugee population. In one instance, he shared a video of a “Syrian thief trying to steal the phone of a firefighter working to rescue earthquake survivors.” The “thief” in question was a Turkish man who volunteered in rescue efforts and the cellphone was his. Özdağ’s ZP was also active on social media to spread the propaganda that Syrian refugees were involved in looting in the aftermath of the earthquake.
Earlier, Özdağ countered official figures of low crime rate among refugees and migrants and claimed the “Syrian mafia is growing” in the country.
He also launched a publicity stunt in the run-up to the general elections of 2023, promoting his “Zafer Tourism” agency for “sending refugees and migrants back to where they came from.” In 2023, he called the government to withdraw from an anti-mine treaty and plant landmines along the country’s borders to discourage migrants.
Media outlets also reported that Özdağ faces another indictment for disclosure of the identities of staff of the National Intelligence Organization (MIT). Özdağ has unveiled the names of two MIT personnel he claimed to have died in Libya during a news conference at Parliament in 2020. An investigation was launched against Özdağ for violation of intelligence laws, and he is expected to appear before a High Criminal Court. Media reports say he may be sentenced to up to seven years if convicted.
