Turkey arrests comedian for insulting Erdogan, religion

Turkey arrested a stand-up comedian on charges that he insulted President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and incited the public to hatred by joking about religion.

Deniz Goktas, 32, was detained by security forces at Istanbul Airport on Thursday and formally arrested after the prosecutor charged him on Friday, state-run Anadolu Agency reported.

The arrest is based on two jokes, Goktas's lawyer Metin Aslan said by phone. In one, Goktas uses the word "dictator," while in the other he talks about Islam's holy book being the final one sent by God.

In his initial statement in custody, the comedian said he had no intention of offending religious people and has had no complaints during shows over the past three years. Responding to the charge about insulting Erdogan, he said the term "dictator" was a political description.

"We will appeal," Aslan, the lawyer, said. "If the appeal is rejected, our aim will be to make sure the prosecutor's indictment is prepared as soon as possible."

A 90-minute performance by Goktas was uploaded to YouTube on June 24 and has since been viewed more than 9.6 million times.

Turkey's religious affairs authority appeared to reference the case in the Friday sermon that's sent to every mosque in the country.

"The consumer culture of the modern age, the indiscriminate use of digital platforms and the increasingly common tendency to mock what we hold sacred under the guise of humor are gradually distancing our children from the values that define us," it said.

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This story was originally published July 3, 2026 at 7:43 PM.