A popular Turkish comedian was released from prison after 88 days behind bars on Monday night despite being found guilty by an Istanbul court of insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and the judge ordered his provisional release pending appeal. Almost three months after being arrested for making jokes in one of his stand-up shows, Deniz Goktas, 32, emerged from the high-security Karatepe prison, smiling as he was greeted by family, fans and supporters, images posted on social media show. Türkiye… there are thousands of people like me who are detained or sentenced for their opinions. It’s great to be outside,” he told reporters. “But it doesn’t make much difference whether you’re inside or outside. I hope the time will come when we can all regain our freedom.” Known for his dry wit and political satire, Goktas was arrested on July 3, a week after posting a video of his show “Dead Sea” on YouTube, which went viral and reached nine million views. The arrest was part of a growing crackdown on anyone deemed critical of Turkey’s Islamoconservative government or its values, which has swept up politicians, journalists, musicians, artists, LGBTQ activists and many others. Previously, Goktas appeared before an Istanbul court at the beginning of his trial for insulting Erdogan, inciting public hatred and praising crime and criminals, in which he offered an ingenious defense that had much of the courtroom in suspense. The judge convicted him on the first charge, modified the second charge to consider it “insults to religious values” and convicted him for that as well, acquitting him on the third charge, an AFP correspondent said. He was convicted. to just over 19 months in prison. But until the sentence is finalized, which only happens after it is reviewed by an appeals court, the judge ordered his release. It was not immediately clear how long the trial would last. As the hearing began, Goktas took the stand to weave a defense rich in political satire, making witty observations. 25 years, a political comedy show in which Erdogan’s name is never mentioned would be neither sincere nor have any connection to reality,” he reasoned. “Erdogan should be open to the art of satire,” he said, denying the charges against him. None of Turkey’s most famous comedians or political satirists had “The laws protecting freedom of expression have not changed since then. But today, a comedian is sitting in a cell. “The joke hasn’t changed. What has changed is an increasingly fragile management that can no longer tolerate the joke.” In the courtroom were several comedians from Istanbul’s TuzBiber comedy club, where Goktas began his career in 2019, as well as observers from the Dutch and American embassies. He asked to be acquitted and released. “They’ve taken three months off my life. I quit smoking, so I’m going to add three months to the end of my life anyway,” he said, drawing laughter and loud applause as he left the stand. Outside in the pouring rain, around 50 protesters chanted: “Deniz Goktas is not alone!” Among them was a student from the southern coastal resort town of Alanya who recently took up stand-up. “I’m not afraid to do stand-up after his arrest. I will continue doing it,” Fatih Yilmaz, 22, told AFP. “His arrest made me proud. His firm stance and the way he keeps cracking jokes from his cell keeps me alive.”fo-hmw/ach
