Turkish comedian arrested over ‘insulting’ Islam and Erdogan – What Turkey’s law says

Turkish comedian Deniz Goktas was arrested after landing at Istanbul Airport on Thursday (Jul 2) after being accused of insulting Islam and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a stand-up performance. The 32-year-old is being investigated for allegedly “publicly insulting religious values” after 185 complaints were filed against him regarding his show, the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office said. This comes as Turkish authorities expand a crackdown against those critical of the country’s Islamo-conservative government or its values. Recently, several musicians, artists, journalists and politicians have faced legal probes for allegedly criticising the government or offending religious and national values.

What did Deniz Goktas do?

On June 24, Goktas released a video of his stand-up performance on YouTube that he gave in Istanbul on June 1. The video has gone viral, gaining nearly nine million views. During the performance, Goktas used satire to comment on recent political developments in Turkey, including references to Erdogan and jailed Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, whose arrest last year sparked large-scale anti-government demonstrations.

Days after the video was posted, prosecutors opened an investigation, alleging that the show involved “offensive statements that constituted a criminal offence”. At that time, Goktas said on X that he was on holiday abroad. He was immediately detained at the airport after returning to Turkey on Thursday (Jul 2). According to his lawyer, he expected to appear before a court on Friday (Jul 3).

Hailing from Ankara, Goktas started his career in stand-up comedy in 2019. He first performed at Istanbul’s TuzBiber comedy club and has since performed in several cities across Europe and the United States.

What does the Turkish law say?

According to Article 216(3) of the Turkish Penal Code, a person can face criminal charges for publicly insulting or denigrating the religious values of a segment of society in a manner that could disturb public peace. While the provision does not constitute a separate blasphemy law, it is used to address speech deemed offensive to religion. Offences under this article can result in prison sentences of six months to one year.

Critics have argued that its broad wording has led to restrictions on free expression, saying that satire, artistic expression, and political criticism can be treated as a criminal offence. On the other hand, the government has maintained that the law is necessary to ensure public order and religious harmony.

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