Turkish comedian Deniz Göktaş is set to appear in court Monday after spending nearly three months in pretrial detention over remarks in a stand-up performance that led to charges of insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, inciting hatred and praising crime, Turkish media reported.
Göktaş, 32, has been in pretrial detention since July 3 and is due to appear before İstanbul’s 14th Criminal Court of First Instance for the first hearing in the case. The court is expected to hear his defense and review whether he should remain in pretrial detention.
The charges stem from remarks in his “Ölü Deniz (Dead Sea),” stand-up show, which was uploaded to YouTube on June 24 and has been viewed more than 15 million times.
The indictment alleges that Göktaş’s remarks about Erdoğan exceeded the limits of legitimate criticism and damaged the president’s honor and reputation. Prosecutors also cite jokes about Islam, the Quran and religious practices in support of the incitement charge, arguing that some of his remarks created an “open and imminent danger” to public order.
The third charge concerns remarks about the Daltonlar, an organized crime group. Prosecutors allege that Göktaş’s remarks praised or legitimized the group’s activities and therefore amounted to praising a crime or criminal.
Göktaş has denied criminal intent. During questioning after his detention, he said he did not intend to insult Erdoğan and argued that describing the president as a dictator was a political characterization. He also denied intending to insult or degrade religious values.
Prosecutors are seeking a prison sentence of between two years, two months and nine years, eight months on the three charges.
Göktaş was detained at İstanbul Airport after returning from a trip abroad. Images published at the time appeared to show him being taken into custody with his hands cuffed behind his back.
On August 28, a court ordered Göktaş released from pretrial detention on charges of insulting the president and inciting hatred, following an appeal by his lawyers, but he remained in prison after another court ordered his detention over the accusation of praising a crime or criminal.
Prosecutors then challenged the release order. On August 31, another court accepted the objection and ordered Göktaş held in pretrial detention again on the charges of insulting the president and inciting hatred, leaving him detained on all three charges.
Ahead of Monday’s hearing, Göktaş wrote from prison that it would be the first time in 88 days that he would leave the facility, joking that he would hear traffic again and be put in handcuffs.
