A Turkish court ordered the arrest of Umit Ozdag on charges of public incitement and anti-Syrian refugee riots after his arrest on Monday.
A court in Türkiye ordered the detention of Victory Party leader Umit Ozdag pending trial on charges of inciting public hatred through social media.
Ozdag was arrested on Monday on charges of insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan over comments in which he said, “Even the Crusades did not harm Turkey as much as Erdogan did.”
The Istanbul prosecutor’s office released Ozdag from prison on charges of insulting the president, but then ordered his arrest on charges of “inciting hatred and hostility among the public,” the party said.
The party said that the prosecution presented 11 of Ozdag’s posts on X as evidence against him. The Prosecutor’s Office also held Ozdag responsible for riots against Syrian refugees last year in Turkey’s central Kayseri province, during which hundreds of homes and businesses were attacked.
In a post on the X website, Özdag said that his arrest means the arrest of the people he represents and who oppose the recent developments in the country.
“Workers who had to live on the minimum wage, and pensioners living below the hunger threshold were arrested! …You can arrest me, but you can’t silence me without killing me!
Ozdag, a 63-year-old former academic, is an outspoken critic of Türkiye’s refugee policies and has called for millions of Syrian refugees to be repatriated.
Ozgur Ozil, leader of the main opposition Republican People’s Party, protested the arrest, saying the decision was a killing of justice and a destruction of democracy and the independence of the judiciary.
Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu also protested Ozdag’s arrest and said it amounted to political interference in the judiciary.
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