Turkish comedian goes on trial for allegedly insulting president

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President Recep Erdogan

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A popular Turkish comedian goes on trial at an Istanbul court on Monday facing charges of insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other offences during a stand-up performance in June.

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Deniz Goktas, a 32-year-old comedian known for his dry wit and political satire, was arrested by police on July 3, a week after releasing a YouTube video of his show that was watched nearly nine million times.

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Held in pre-trial detention ever since, Goktas is facing charges of insulting Erdogan and incitement to public hatred, with prosecutors later adding an extra charge of praising crime and criminals, according to the indictment.

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Goktas’s arrest was the latest in a widening crackdown on anyone seen as critical of Turkey’s Islamo-conservative government or its values. which has netted hundreds of politicians, artists, musicians, journalists and LGBTQ activists among others.

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In the pouring rain, around 50 protesters with umbrellas gathered outside Istanbul’s Caglayan courthouse under the watch of several dozen police, chanting: “Denis Goktas is not alone!”, an AFP correspondent said.

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Several dozen police were also inside as a crowd of journalists and supporters waited to enter the courtroom where Goktas was expected to attend in person.

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Among them were several comedians from Istanbul’s TuzBiber comedy club where Goktas reportedly began his career in 2019. There were also observers from the Dutch embassy and the US consulate.

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– X posts from jail –

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The comedian is being held at Karatepe high-security prison, about 120 kilometres (75 miles) west of Istanbul, and he has been able to give an occasional post on X, mostly wry observations about life behind bars.

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“After 88 days, I’ll be handcuffed for the first time and hear a car horn. I’m definitely not missing the handcuffs,” he posted late Sunday, on the eve of his first day in court.

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“A 90-minute show spawns a new charge every two months,” he wrote in late August, saying they had added the extra charge against him “for a joke about the Daltons” — one of Turkey’s organised crime groups.

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Although the indictment did not clearly outline the sentence, calculations by the Turkish media suggested that if convicted on all charges, he could face up to a decade or more behind bars, Anka news agency reported, with other outlets giving a similar figure.

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According to Turkish media, the Ankara-born comedian began his career at TuzBiber in Istanbul and has gone on to perform at venues across Europe and the US.

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