Published 1 day ago • loading... • Updated 6 hours ago

Turkey detains stand-up comedian for allegedly insulting religious values

Turkish authorities detained 32-year-old comedian Deniz Goktas at Istanbul International Airport on Thursday, with procedures underway to transfer him to the Istanbul Security Branch Directorate for investigation.
An investigation into Goktas follows 185 public complaints about his viral video, with the probe concerning Article 216 of the Turkish Penal Code, which criminalizes "publicly insulting religious values adopted by a segment of the public."
The comedian's full YouTube set garnered more than 8.5 million views, while a roughly 3-minute clip shared online drew millions of views, prompting criticism from viewers cited by the newspaper Sabah.
Goktas is the latest celebrity facing investigation for remarks deemed offensive, following similar cases involving satirical magazine Leman staff and comedian Tuba Ulu, as restrictions on free expression have recently extended into popular culture.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has consolidated power during more than two decades in office; the USCIRF wrote in a 2022 report that Turkey's prosecution of insulting religious values is "in contravention of the country's human rights commitments.

Insights by Ground AI

55 Articles

Turkish comedian jailed pending trial over alleged insults to Erdogan and religious values

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

13 hours ago·Jerusalem, Israel

Read Full Article