ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Umit Ozdag, leader of Turkey's far-right Victory Party (Zafer), was detained on Monday as part of an investigation into allegations of "insulting" Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, state media reported.
Turkey’s state-owned Anadolu Agency said that Ozdag “was detained as part of an investigation initiated against him for ‘insulting the President.’”
"Erdogan is harming the faith of the Turkish nation by dividing the state among religious orders and communities, by making polytheists a partner in the state, and by bringing millions of refugees and fugitives into Anatolia, he is destroying the culture of the Turkish nation. What is actually happening is AKP fascism,” Ozdag said, referring to Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).
The Istanbul public prosecutor’s office launched the investigation “automatically” over Ozdag’s remarks about Erdogan during his party's provincial chairpersons' consultation meeting on Sunday, Anadolu reported. The far-right leader was detained in Ankara and later transferred to Istanbul by law enforcement.
In a statement, the Victory Party confirmed the detainment, urging supporters and party members to “stand with” Ozdag.
Republican People’s Party (CHP), leader Ozgur Ozel called it a “hasty detention’ and an attempt “to discredit opposition politicians."
Victory Party is a far-right ultranationalist party that rose to prominence due to its anti-immigrant rhetoric. It was a part of the Ancestral Alliance (ATA), which consisted of smaller nationalist parties, in the 2023 parliamentary elections, but won no seats.
