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Zafer Party (Victory Party) leader Umit Ozdag, known for his ultra-nationalist and anti-immigration stance, was released after long detention due to an incitement case.
He had been detained for 148 days on charges of “publicly inciting hatred and enmity” before appearing before the Silivri court for the second time in his final hearing.
The prosecutor requested a prison sentence ranging from 1.5 to 4.5 years and sought the continuation of Ozdag’s detention.
Ozdag was first taken into custody in Ankara on Jan. 19 over comments he made during an Antalya provincial chairpersons meeting and was formally arrested on Jan. 21 on charges of “inciting hatred, enmity, or denigration.”
At the meeting, Ozdag sharply criticized President Erdogan, saying, “No crusade has ever turned the Turkish people into deists, atheists, or Christians.
However, under Erdogan’s rule, large segments of the Turkish population have distanced themselves from religion, with the rate of deists and atheists rising above 16%.
Erdogan, who attacks the Turkish people’s faith, culture, and history, is a man who learned history from a madman wearing a fez.”
The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office charged Ozdag with “multiple counts of publicly inciting hatred, enmity, or denigration,” seeking a prison sentence ranging from one year, 10 months, and 15 days up to seven years, 10 months, and 15 days.
Following his first hearing on June 11, Ozdag was released after the court’s decision in his second hearing at Silivri.
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