A far-right Turkish politician accused of inciting public hatred and hostility went on trial on Wednesday in a case critics view as an effort to suppress opposition to the president.
Ümit Özdağ, the leader of the Victory Party, was detained in January over accusations he insulted President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in comments at a party meeting in Antalya.
Özdağ was then formally arrested and charged with inciting hatred against migrants.
He was blamed for last year's anti-Syrian refugee riots in the central Turkish province of Kayseri, during which hundreds of homes and businesses were attacked.
Prosecutors have presented a series of posts from Özdağ's social media as evidence against him. He faces up to four years in prison if found guilty.
Meanwhile, the court in Silivri ruled that Özdağ should remain in detention until his next hearing on 17 June.
Özdağ, a 64-year-old former academic, is an outspoken critic of Turkey's refugee policies and has previously called for the repatriation of millions of Syrian refugees.
Özdağ acknowledged advocating the return of refugees at the opening hearing of his trial at a prison complex on the outskirts of Istanbul.
He denied he had incited violence against them and told the court he had worked to calm tensions in Kayseri.
In his defence statement, Özdağ maintained that his imprisonment was politically motivated and aimed at silencing him over his criticism of the government's recent effort to end a decades-long conflict with the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
"The reason why I am here ... is because I criticised the talks held with the PKK terrorist organisation’s chief," Özdağ said.
The Victory Party strongly opposes any concessions to the PKK which Turkey, along with many Western states including the European Union, the United Kingdom and the United States, considers a terrorist organisation.
The conflict with the PKK has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths since the 1980s.
When the trial opened on Wednesday, Özdağ's lawyers requested more time to prepare and the proceedings were adjourned until next Tuesday.
Accusations of an opposition crackdown
The politician's trial comes amid a widespread crackdown on the opposition to Erdoğan's Justice and Development or AK party.
Officials from municipalities controlled by the main opposition, the Republican People's Party (CHP), have faced waves of arrests this year.
Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu was detained in March over allegations of corruption.
İmamoğlu was due in court on Thursday morning to face charges of attempting to influence a witness and attempting to interfere with a trial, but neither he nor his lawyers attended the session.
The court rescheduled the trial date for 26 September.
Many people in Turkey consider those cases to be politically motivated, according to opinion polls.
However, Erdoğan's government insists the courts are impartial and free from political involvement.
İmamoğlu is widely viewed as the main challenger to Erdoğan's two-decade rule and is the CHP’s candidate for the next presidential election.
The election is due in 2028 but could be held earlier.
