A Turkish court sentenced jailed journalist Enver Aysever to 10 months in prison on Thursday for “inciting hatred and enmity” due to remarks he made in criticism of right-wing ideology but ordered his release after suspending the sentence, Turkish Minute reported, citing the Anka news agency.
Aysever, 54, had been in pretrial detention since December 11, when he was arrested following comments criticizing right-wing ideology.
The trial was held at the Küçükçekmece 30th Criminal Court of First Instance in İstanbul. The court sentenced Aysever to 10 months in prison but postponed the sentence and ruled for his release.
The case stemmed from a livestream in which Aysever responded to remarks by Hasan İmamoğlu, the father of jailed İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu.
In an interview with the Sözcü newspaper in December, the elder İmamoğlu said he regretted having fought communism throughout his life, claiming that there is no need for communism to threaten property rights.
He made the remarks while criticizing the government’s seizure of his family’s assets following his son’s arrest. Many see the corruption probe targeting the İstanbul Municipality as politically motivated.
During a broadcast on his YouTube channel, Aysever criticized those comments and said: “Being right-wing is a crime. When you are right-wing, you become immoral. … A person with a conscience is left-wing.”
Aysever, who has more than 280,000 subscribers to his YouTube channel, was detained following a criminal investigation launched after clips from the broadcast circulated widely on social media and triggered backlash.
The journalist had previously defended his comments, saying he had not intended to insult conservatives or nationalists and noting that they make up a significant portion of Turkish society.
An indictment drafted last month sought a prison sentence of up to three years for the journalist, accusing him of “publicly inciting hatred and enmity.”
Aysever’s prosecution has attracted attention to ongoing concerns about freedom of expression in Turkey, where journalists, commentators and social media personalities frequently face criminal investigations over their statements.
Since 2002 Turkey has been ruled by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP), which describes itself as conservative-democratic but is accused by its critics of being nationalist, conservative and right-wing populist.
Aysever’s prosecution comes amid longstanding concerns over press freedom in Turkey, where journalists, commentators and social media personalities frequently face criminal charges over their statements.
Turkey is ranked 159th out of 180 countries in the 2025 World Press Freedom Index, published by RSF in May 2025.
