A Turkish prosecutor is seeking a prison sentence of up to three years for jailed journalist and author Enver Aysever, accusing him of “publicly inciting hatred and enmity” in remarks he made in criticism of right-wing ideology during a YouTube broadcast in late 2025, Turkish Minute reported, citing the DHA news agency.
Aysever, 54, has been in pretrial detention since December 11, when he was arrested following comments criticizing rightwing ideology.
The indictment, drafted by the Küçükçekmece Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office in İstanbul, claims that his statements fall outside the scope of freedom of expression and amount to incitement against people with conservative political views.
It has been accepted by the Küçükçekmece 30th Criminal Court of First Instance.
The case stems 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 rightwing is a crime. When you are rightwing, you become immoral. … A person with a conscience is leftwing.”
Clips from the program circulated widely on social media, prompting a backlash and a criminal investigation.
Aysever, who has more than 270,000 subscribers on his YouTube channel, said at the time that he was targeted by users who had not watched the full broadcast.
In his defense the journalist said he had not intended to insult conservatives or nationalists, noting that they make up a significant portion of Turkish society.
He said the spontaneity of a live broadcast may have led him to use imprecise language and said he was willing to apologize to anyone who felt offended.
If convicted, Aysever faces between one and three years in prison. He remains behind bars awaiting trial.
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.
