Ümit Özdağ, the leader of Turkey’s anti-immigration Victory Party (Zafer Partisi), was released from prison on Monday after being sentenced to 2 years and 4 months for “inciting hatred and enmity among the public.” Though convicted, it is unlikely that Özdağ will serve a prison sentence; however, he faces a potential lifetime ban from politics. Meanwhile, Istanbul’s jailed mayor and main opposition party’s presidential candidate, Ekrem İmamoğlu, remains in custody following his second hearing on Monday.

Özdağ’s arrest earlier this year and the controversial nature of the case have reignited debate over freedom of expression and the selective use of Turkey’s penal code against opposition figures. Özdağ was arrested in January, a day after delivering a provocative speech at a party meeting where he claimed:

“No Crusade in the last thousand years has harmed the Turkish nation and state as much as Erdoğan and the AKP have.”

Prosecutors charged Özdağ under Article 216 of the Turkish Penal Code, accusing him of “inciting hatred and enmity” and “insulting the President.” The case cited not only his remarks about President Erdoğan but also a series of social media posts allegedly linked to people associated with his Zafer Party.

Özdağ strongly denied any connection to the posts, arguing that they were not his and that the prosecution relied on an unsigned, unstamped report supposedly prepared by the Kayseri Police Department. “There is no legal basis for this,” he said during his final hearing. “These are not my words, and there is no evidence tying........

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