Turkish court jails comedian for insulting Erdogan, religious values

ISTANBUL – A Turkish court jailed comedian Deniz Goktas pending trial on July 3 for insulting President Tayyip Erdogan and religious values, a court document seen by Reuters showed, days after prosecutors opened an investigation into remarks he made on stage.

The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office said earlier this week it had launched an investigation after identifying what it described as criminal expressions in content shared by Goktas on social media. Police detained him at Istanbul Airport when he flew back to Turkey from a trip abroad on July 2.

Prosecutors said the investigation concerned allegations that Goktas insulted religious values during a stand-up performance in Istanbul on June 1, in which he made references to Erdogan, the Koran and jailed Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu.

Insulting the president is among the charges against him, Goktas’ lawyer Metin Aslan said in a social media post.

The performance quickly went viral online, and attracted more than nine million views on YouTube as of July 3, with clips spreading widely across X, Instagram and other social media platforms.

Several members of Erdogan’s ruling AK Party and Erdogan’s advisers criticised Goktas on social media, accusing him of mocking Erdogan and the Koran.

In a statement to police, Goktas denied the charges, saying his jokes were not an insult against religious values or the Koran, according to broadcaster Haberturk. He also said that his description of Erdogan as a “dictator” was a political definition and not an insult.

After speculation that he had left Turkey to avoid prosecution, Goktas said on social media earlier this week that he had travelled abroad for a holiday and intended to return.

“I intend to spend many more years in Turkey and if there is a situation demanding my presence, I will return on the next flight back,” he wrote. REUTERS