Ümit Özdağ's statement revealed! He also mentioned Syrians

An investigation was launched by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office against Zafer Party Chairman Ümit Özdağ on the charge of 'Insulting the President' due to remarks he made regarding President and AKP Chairman Recep Tayyip Erdoğan during his party's provincial chairs consultation meeting on January 19, 2025.

Özdağ was detained at a restaurant where he was dining in Ankara as part of the investigation. Brought to Istanbul by police teams, Özdağ was referred to the Istanbul Courthouse following his processing at the police station. It was learned that the investigation launched by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office regarding Ümit Özdağ was also expanded to include the charge of 'Publicly Inciting the Public to Hatred and Enmity.' Brought to the Çağlayan Courthouse yesterday morning, Ümit Özdağ was referred to court with a request for arrest after being questioned by the prosecutor's office. Having his defense taken by the judgeship, Ümit Özdağ was arrested on the charge of 'Publicly Inciting the Public to Hatred and Enmity.'

'MAY GOD NOT WISH UPON ANYONE WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO THE SYRIANS'

The statement given by Zafer Party Chairman Ümit Özdağ to the judgeship has been revealed.

In his statement, Özdağ said, "Numan Kurtulmuş, who is currently the Speaker of Parliament and was the AKP Group Chairman during that process, announced to me first and then to the entire press that there were over 4 million registered Syrians in Turkey. There is disinformation here as well. A few months ago, an AKP deputy said, 'Turkey naturally has to be in Syria because one-third of the population is here.' There are currently a total of 13 million immigrants from various countries in Turkey. Turkey is the country that receives the most immigrants in the world. We, as the Zafer Party, argue that this population hinders development and leaves the country facing a serious geopolitical threat. We want the mines removed after 2011 to be re-laid and for the refugees to return in accordance with the law through the Anatolia Project. We have no hostility toward Syrians. May God not wish upon anyone what has happened to the Syrians. The Turkish public's dissatisfaction regarding refugees and illegal migrants, and what they do when these people engage in unlawful acts, is seen from time to time on social media."

'IT HAS EMERGED THAT I DID NOT INSULT THE PRESIDENT'

Continuing his statement, Özdağ said, "I was detained by dozens of police officers while eating at a restaurant yesterday for insulting the President. Without even taking my medication, I was brought to Istanbul in a vehicle traveling at 180 kilometers per hour after a direct medical examination. I spent the night at the Vatan Police Headquarters and stayed there until noon. When I came here, I learned that another file had been added to this one. It was based on tweets I posted at different times. I had quoted some tweets at different times, and thus I saw that the axis of the investigation had changed. It emerged through the statements and declarations that I did not insult the President. However, the prosecutor thought that the tweets I posted regarding the events in Kayseri created an environment."

'THE ZAFER PARTY HAS NO INVOLVEMENT IN THE EVENTS, THERE IS A FABRICATION'

Regarding his posts about the events in Kayseri, Özdağ said, "In the tweets I posted about Kayseri, I called on people to return to their homes and said this was an imperialist project. I said, 'They are trying to make us fight each other.' In the report prepared by the Kayseri Provincial Police Department, these posts of mine are not included. I immediately sent people to the region. These friends made statements in Kayseri to calm the environment, and no Zafer Party members were detained or arrested in the incidents. Moreover, there are studies conducted by cybercrimes. In these studies, it was determined that most of the accounts were abroad. Those within the country were arrested, and there were no Zafer Party members among them. While the situation was at this point, I had not posted tweets before the events in Kayseri. While the tweets I posted belonged to different times and places; in one incident, a 27-year-old Syrian person attempted to sexually abuse a 7-year-old girl. The police heard about the incident and wanted to detain this person. The Syrians there got involved in the incident and resisted the police. Our citizens who were there went outside to help the police, and the events began. The Zafer Party has no connection or involvement with these events. There is a fabrication. A campaign of 'Let Ümit Özdağ be arrested' has been started stubbornly, even though there is no crime. Troll accounts on social media are doing this. The sources of these troll accounts are political. Information that reached me is that the reason for the desire for my arrest to be so strong is that a similar assassination to the one carried out against the late Kaşif Kozinoğlu is being considered for Ümit Özdağ. If someone is thinking this, let them know that I have been aware of it for a long time. As an academic, as a scientist who has given courses on intelligence and counter-terrorism to the General Directorate of Security, taught constitutional law at the Police Academy, and carried out projects and studies at the National Security Academy, I show sensitivity so that the unity and integrity of Turkey are not disrupted. The Zafer Party has never carried out an action that would disrupt this integrity. The Twitter account within the scope of the file belongs to me. I do not accept the accusation leveled against me. I request to be released."