Turkish Comedian Convicted Over Erdoğan Jokes

Deniz Göktaş took the stand in an Istanbul court on Sept. 28, 2026 and delivered a satirical defense that drew laughter. The judge convicted him of insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and insulting religious values, sentenced him to just over 19 months, ordered his release pending appeal, and acquitted him of praising crime and criminals. Arrested July 3 after his Dead Sea show video went viral, the 32-year-old had spent 88 days at Karatepe high-security prison. Prosecutors cited a joke calling Erdoğan a shy dictator plus jokes about women in full-coverage swimsuits as divers and suicide bombers who fast, and a line on a crime group called the Daltons. Göktaş said "Dictator is not an insult: it is a political characterisation," "Erdogan should be open to the art of satire," and "The joke hasn’t changed. What has changed is the increasingly fragile leadership that can no longer tolerate the joke." He left to applause after saying "Three months have been taken away from my life. I quit smoking, so I'll add three months to the end of my life anyway." Erdoğan was the sole formal complainant. Outside in the rain, protesters chanted "Deniz Goktas is not alone!" and Fatih Yilmaz said "I am not afraid to do stand-up after his arrest. I will keep doing it." He can appeal.