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Turkish comedian arrested over viral performance

6 Temmuz 2026 Pazartesi

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ISTANBUL (Medyascope) – Stand-up comedian Deniz Göktaş, whose viral performance has amassed nearly 12 million views on YouTube, has been arrested after an investigation was launched accusing him of ‘insulting religious values’.

By Leo Kendrick • Medyascope

A separate charge accusing Göktaş of ‘insulting the president’ was added at the time of the comedian’s detention. Göktaş was detained at the Istanbul Airport after returning from a short trip abroad. He is currently incarcerated at the high-security Çorlu prison in Turkey’s European Tekirdağ province.

Göktaş’s 1.5-hour performance touched on topics including the Quran, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, imprisoned Istanbul Mayor Erkem İmamoğlu, and a host of others. In the piece, Göktaş described the Turkish President as ‘a confident, self-assured dictator who has broken out of his shell.’ Another section of the performance believed to have landed Göktaş in hot water described Erdoğan as a ‘great father’, making veiled reference to the Turkish President’s oldest son, who killed a pedestrian and fled the scene while driving in Istanbul without a valid license in 1998, only to be acquitted under questionable circumstances during his father’s term as mayor of the city. 

During the comedian’s initial detention following his arrival at Istanbul Airport, he was controversially placed in reverse handcuffs, a form of arrest typically reserved for violent offenders. A video released showed Göktaş being led into police headquarters shot from behind. In a message released through his lawyers, Göktaş said the police arresting him attempted to record the video four or five times, and finally released the shot from behind so as not to show him smiling. 

Kılıçdaroğlu, Özel meet with Göktaş

Since his detention, the comedian has been visited by both competing leaders of Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP).

Former CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, who was controversially reinstalled as party leader by a court ruling in May, briefly visited Göktaş at Istanbul’s main courthouse shortly before his transfer to Çorlu Prison. During the exchange, Göktaş reportedly told Kılıçdaroğlu “Leave the CHP alone, Mr Chairman,” apparently suggesting he return the party to its elected, recently deposed leadership. While Kılıçdaroğlu has denied this exchange, it has been confirmed by Göktaş through his lawyer.

On Sunday (July 6), the CHP’s elected, recently-deposed leader Özgür Özel visited Göktaş at Çorlu Prison.

Çorlu maximum-security prison

Çorlu Prison, where Göktaş is currently being held in solitary confinement, is well-known in Turkey for its harsh conditions. The maximum-security facility is known in Turkish as the ‘bottom of the well’ for its lack of sunlight. A report on the facility released by the Istanbul Bar Association noted numerous human rights violations at Çorlu.

Mehmet Pehlivan, lawyer of imprisoned Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, is currently housed at the facility and has described the harsh conditions, which include only one hour of sunlight per day and limited contact with other individuals.

Göktaş, a nonviolent, first-time offender, is not expected to serve serious time at Çorlu. Nevertheless, the comedian’s surprising placement at the maximum-security facility typically reserved for violent offenders with aggravated life sentences has been widely discussed as excessive.

Turkish comedian arrested over viral performance | Written for Medyascope by Leo Kendrick | Edited by Medyascope English Newsroom

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© Medyascope