Turkish comedian Deniz Göktaş detained after jokes about Erdogan and Islam, faces charges of inciting hatred and hostility

An Istanbul court has ordered the detention of Turkish comedian Deniz Göktaş, who is accused by the authorities of “inciting hatred and hostility,” as well as insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a stand-up performance published on YouTube.

Göktaş was detained at Istanbul’s main airport as he was returning from vacation. After being questioned by prosecutors over parts of his performance mentioning President Erdogan and the Quran, the court ordered him held in pre-trial detention. The video of the performance was uploaded to YouTube on June 24 and has so far received around 9.4 million views.

According to the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, 185 complaints were filed over the video’s content. At the same time, Turkey’s Directorate of Religious Affairs publicly criticized the performance during its weekly Friday sermon, saying that mocking religious values under the guise of humor harms the education and values of the younger generation.

In his testimony before prosecutors, Göktaş denied that he had intended to insult believers or the president. He said the same performance had been staged for nearly three years in different cities across Turkey and that his use of the word “dictator” was connected to a well-known public debate in the country.

The decision to detain the comedian prompted immediate reactions from his supporters, who gathered outside the courthouse in Istanbul to protest. Meanwhile, images of Göktaş with his hands handcuffed behind his back circulated widely on social media.

The case comes at a time when Turkish authorities have stepped up actions against government critics. In recent weeks, journalists, lawyers, academics, environmental activists and representatives of the LGBT+ community have been arrested, while access to several social media accounts has also been blocked.