An Istanbul court has sentenced Turkish comedian Deniz Goktas to 19 months in prison after finding him guilty of “insulting the president” and “insulting religious values.” The 32-year-old had spent three months in detention and was released pending an appeal.
According to foreign media reports, during the trial, Göktas denied the charges and stated that using the term "dictator" in a comedy show does not constitute a criminal offense. He argued that it was a political statement and that humor should be free from censorship and prohibitions.
The comedian said that a political show that did not mention President Recep Tayyip Erdogan would not be in line with the country's political reality. Goktas was found not guilty of the charge of glorifying a crime. During the hearing, he maintained a calm demeanor and occasionally caused laughter in the courtroom with his statements.
After the verdict, the comedian said that the three months he spent in detention had taken away his life. He added with irony that, having quit smoking, he would try to add those three months to the end of his life. Deniz Göktas started his career on the stand-up scene in Istanbul in 2019 and has since performed in various countries in Europe and the United States.
