Deniz Goktas indicted over Erdogan insult claim

Turkish prosecutors charged comedian Deniz Goktas with insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other offences over a June stand-up performance, in a case that could lead to years in prison if he is convicted.

Goktas, 32, was arrested in early July, about a week after he released a YouTube video of the performance. The video was watched nearly nine million times. He has been held in pre-trial detention since then.

Prosecutors initially accused Goktas of insulting Erdogan and incitement to public hatred. A September 3 indictment also added a charge of praising crime and criminals.

The first hearing is scheduled for September 28.

In the indictment, prosecutors said some of Goktas's comments about Erdogan exceeded the limits of criticism and damaged the president's honour, dignity and reputation. They also said jokes about fasting suicide bombers and women wearing modest swimwear openly incited against a religious section of the public, and that a joke about hiring a contract killer through Telegram praised or legitimised criminal acts.

Anka news agency reported that Turkish media calculations suggested Goktas could face up to a decade or more in prison if convicted on all charges. Other outlets gave a similar figure.

Goktas was abroad when the investigation was opened and flew back to Turkey on July 2, when he was arrested at the airport. Turkish media said the Ankara-born comedian began stand-up at Istanbul's TuzBiber comedy club in 2019 and later performed at venues in Europe and the United States.