Turkish prosecutors have charged comedian Deniz Goktas with insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other offenses stemming from jokes he made during a stand-up performance in June, AFP reported Friday.
Goktas, 32, is known for political satire and dry humor. He was arrested in early July, shortly after publishing a recording of the performance on YouTube that went on to receive nearly nine million views. He has remained in pre-trial detention since his arrest.
The comedian was initially investigated for allegedly insulting Erdogan and inciting public hatred. A third charge, accusing him of praising crime and criminals, was added on August 28, according to an indictment dated September 3 and seen by journalists.
Although the indictment did not specify the precise sentence Goktas could receive, Turkish media calculated that a conviction on all charges could result in a prison term of 10 years or more, according to Anka news agency and other outlets. His first court hearing is scheduled for September 28.
Prosecutors said remarks Goktas made about Erdogan during the show “exceeded the limits of criticism and were of a nature to damage the president’s honour, dignity and reputation in society”.
Other material cited by prosecutors included jokes about fasting suicide bombers and women wearing modest swimwear. They said those remarks “openly incited” against a religious sector of the public and were “divisive and polarizing in nature”.
The third case against Goktas concerns a joke about arranging for a contract killer through Telegram. Prosecutors cited his reference to a criminal gang and alleged that the joke “praised, legitimised and facilitated access to criminal acts”.
Goktas said he was abroad on vacation when the investigation began. He returned to Turkey on July 2 and was arrested at the airport.
Born in Ankara, Goktas began performing stand-up comedy at Istanbul’s TuzBiber comedy club in 2019, according to Turkish media. He has subsequently performed at venues in Europe and the United States.
His case comes amid what rights groups describe as an expanding crackdown on people critical of Turkey’s Islamo-conservative government and its values. Hundreds of politicians, artists, musicians and journalists have been caught up in such actions.
Turkey has long faced criticism over censorship, including frequent restrictions on access to websites and increased government influence over the internet and judiciary. Journalists, bloggers and ordinary citizens have increasingly faced court proceedings over allegations of insulting Erdogan and other senior officials.
Among previous cases are that of a 17-year-old accused of insulting Erdogan in a Facebook post, a philosophy professor investigated over an article accusing the president of corruption, and a former Miss Turkey prosecuted over social media posts considered critical of Erdogan.
In December 2016, the head of a cafeteria at the opposition newspaper Cumhuriyet was detained after saying he would refuse to serve Erdogan tea.
(Arutz Sheva-Israel National News’ North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)
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