site.btaIndictment against Turkish Opposition Leader Ozdag Carries One to Seven Years in Prison

The indictment of the Turkish prosecution service envisages a prison sentence of one to seven years for opposition Victory Party leader Umit Ozdag, who has been detained in Silivri prison for nearly three months, the Haberler news portal reported on Wednesday.

According to the indictment, the requested punishment for the opposition leader is for “inciting the public to hatred and hostility or humiliation” through the press and spreading allegations through a chain of media publications.

The indictment states that Ozdag's publications in relation to allegations that a Syrian migrant had abused a 5-year-old girl in the town of Kayseri caused mass protests to erupt.

It is also pointed out that the indictment includes data provided to the General Public Prosecution Office in Istanbul by Interior Ministry's Migration Management Directorate and General Directorate of Legal Services, according to which 34 publications by Ozdag on different dates and in different media outlet regarding Syrian refugees and irregular migrants in Turkiye were misinforming and distorting.