Interior ministry files criminal complaint against Victory Party leader for anti-refugee remarks

ANKARA

Interior Ministry has filed a criminal complaint against the Chair of the Victory Party, Ümit Özdağ, for his anti-refugee statements.

The petition of the interior ministry was submitted to the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office Parliamentary Crimes Investigation Bureau on May 11. The petition included Özdağ’s statements in print and visual media, along with the ones on his social media account.

The ministry suggested that his remarks targeted social peace and tranquility through the issue of refugees.

Emphasizing that Özdağ’s statements exceeded the limits of freedom of press and expression, the petition said, “It is clear that the statements in question incite the people to hatred and provocation against foreigners, are incompatible with the requirements of a democratic society, and endanger public peace, public order and public security.”

The ministry demanded that Özdağ be prosecuted for crimes to be determined ex officio by the prosecutor’s office.

Özdağ recently drew attention with his anti-refugee rhetoric. Özdağ said he placed an order for a nine-minute film, “Silent Invasion,” in which director Hande Karacasu voiced the results of uncontrolled migration.

A few hours after the release of the film, Karacasu was detained on the accusation of “manipulating the information on refugees and irregular migrants.”

The far-right deputy Özdağ has long been making politics over anti-refugee sentiment.

Last year, he came under fire for posting a photo of an Afghan grocery store in Kırşehir province in which he said, “Afghan Market-Owner in the center of Kırşehir, a young person from Afghanistan.” He was criticized for spreading hatred and animosity against Afghan migrants.

The İYİ (Good) Party expelled Özdağ on Nov.16 last year over a discipline procedure launched after the MP accused the party’s Istanbul Provincial Chair Buğra Kavuncu of links to FETÖ, a terror organization blamed for the July 2016 coup attempt.