Ümit Özdağ, the head of Turkey’s ultranationalist Victory Party, was released due to time served from İstanbul’s Silivri Prison on Monday after being sentenced to two years, four months in prison on charges of inciting hatred, ending 148 days of pretrial detention without the imposition of judicial supervision.
Özdağ, a controversial anti-refugee politician and vocal nationalist, had been held since January 21 over remarks prosecutors claimed publicly incited hatred and hostility “in a chain-like manner [multiple counts] through press and broadcast.” He was formally charged under Article 216 of the Turkish Penal Code, with prosecutors initially seeking up to seven years, 10 months in prison. A separate trial for insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is pending.
The İstanbul court delivered its ruling during a June 17 hearing at the high-security Silivri courthouse, where Özdağ had appeared five days earlier for the first time since his arrest. Despite the court handing down a prison sentence, it ruled for his immediate release, citing time served and not imposing any probationary measures such as a travel ban or reporting obligations.
Özdağ’s case drew nationwide attention amid growing concerns about the criminalization of political dissent in Turkey. Critics argued that his prolonged detention and delayed indictment were signs of political persecution aimed at silencing his criticism of the government’s migration policies and peace overtures toward the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
Throughout the proceedings, Özdağ maintained that his statements were grounded in political analysis and academic research rather than incitement, accusing the government of attempting to criminalize opposition to mass migration. He described himself as “the only politician in the world imprisoned for opposing illegal immigration” and said his arrest reflected the government’s intolerance of dissenting views on national security and sovereignty.
Prosecutors had also cited Özdağ’s inflammatory comments linking the Erdoğan administration to the Crusades, which led to a separate investigation on charges of insulting the president, carrying a possible sentence of up to four years, eight months.
The indictment included references to social media posts and speeches made in the run-up to and following anti-Syrian refugee violence in central Turkey’s Kayseri province, claiming his rhetoric contributed to social unrest. Özdağ denied the accusations, saying he had worked to de-escalate tensions and condemned the violence.
Özdağ, a former academic and interior ministry official, founded the Victory Party in 2021 after splitting from other nationalist groups. The party has since gained a small but vocal base through its anti-migration platform and criticism of Turkey’s refugee policy, positioning itself as a hardline alternative to the mainstream opposition.