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Friday, July 3, 2026
Turkish court jails comedian for insulting Erdogan, religious values
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A Turkish court jails comedian Deniz Goktas pending trial on Friday for insulting President Tayyip Erdogan and religious values, days after prosecutors opened an investigation into remarks he made on stage.
Goktas is accused of insulting religious values during a stand-up performance in Istanbul on June 1, in which he made references to Erdogan, the Quran and jailed Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu.
The performance quickly went viral online, and attracted more than nine million views on YouTube as of Friday, with clips spreading widely across X, Instagram and other social media platforms.
Goktas has denied the charges, saying his jokes were not an insult against religious values or the Quran. He’s also said that his description of Erdogan as a “dictator” was a political definition and not an insult.
The Times of Israel Community.