People walk past a poster of President Erdogan underneath Turkish flags in Istanbul on 28 May 2023. [Getty]
A popular Turkish comedian was arrested on arrival at Istanbul airport on Thursday for allegedly insulting Islam and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The arrest of Deniz Goktas, 32, came as the authorities have broadened a crackdown on anyone seen as critical of Turkey’s Islamo-conservative government or its values, with mounting legal probes into musicians, artists, journalists and politicians among others.
“Deniz Goktas was apprehended at Istanbul Airport on 2 July,” the Istanbul public prosecutors’ office said in a statement.
It said it had received 185 complaints about a stand-up show and added he was under investigation for “publicly insulting religious values”.
His lawyer, Metin Aslan, said Goktas was also accused of insulting Erdogan.
A stand-up performance he gave in Istanbul on 1 June was released in a 90-minute video on YouTube on 24 June and has since been viewed nearly nine million times.
The show took a satirical look at political developments in Turkey, with Goktas speaking about Erdogan and his jailed political rival, Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, whose arrest last year sparked mass street protests.
Several days later, prosecutors opened an investigation into the comedian, saying the show involved “offensive statements that constituted a criminal offence”.
Goktas – who said on X he was on holiday abroad at the time – flew back to Turkey on Thursday.
He is due to appear in court on Friday morning, his lawyer said.
Turkish media said the 32-year-old Ankara-born comedian began his career in stand-up at Istanbul’s TuzBiber comedy club in 2019. He has since gone on to perform at venues across Europe and the US.
(AFP)
