Ümit Özdağ, leader of Turkey’s far-right Victory Party, plans to begin a hunger strike after Eid al-Fitr, the three-day Muslim festival marking the end of Ramadan, in protest of his continued imprisonment, according to an opposition lawmaker who visited him in prison, Turkish Minute reported.
Republican People’s Party (CHP) lawmaker Mustafa Sarıgül said he visited Özdağ on Wednesday at İstanbul’s Marmara Prison, where the far-right leader has been held since January 21 on charges of inciting hatred.
Sarıgül told reporters the visit deeply saddened him and that Özdağ expressed frustration over what he called unjust detention.
“If this continues, I will start a hunger strike after the holiday,” Sarıgül quoted Özdağ as saying. “I will protest these laws with my body.”
Eid al-Fitr begins on Sunday, March 30, and will last for three days.
Özdağ, who turned 64 earlier this month behind bars, has called his imprisonment politically motivated and part of a government campaign to silence dissent.
He faces multiple legal cases, including a charge of insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and a separate charge that carries a prison sentence of up to five years and a political ban. Prosecutors cite his public speeches and social media posts as grounds for the charges.
Turkey has been widely criticized for using broad legal provisions to prosecute opposition politicians, activists and journalists.
