Turkish comedian freed after conviction for insulting Erdogan: “Dictator is not an insult”

A court in Istanbul has convicted a well-known comedian of insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, handing him a sentence of nearly 19 months in prison, but ordered his release for time already served in pre-trial detention.

The court also imposed a travel ban, preventing him from leaving Turkey. The final decision on the case will rest with the appeals court.

Deniz Goktas, who has denied the charges, has already spent around 90 days in prison. Prosecutors had sought a sentence of up to 12 years. His case comes amid a wave of arrests in Turkey that human rights organizations say are aimed at silencing dissenting voices.

His stand-up performance went viral on YouTube, drawing more than 15 million views. Prosecutors singled out a segment in which the comedian called the Turkish leader “a shameful dictator”, but Goktas insisted there was “no criminal element” in his remarks.

“Dictator is not an insult, it is a political characterization,” he said.

After his release, Goktas told reporters: “There are thousands of other people in Turkey’s prisons. Some, like me, are being held in pre-trial detention, while others have been convicted for their views.

“So, of course, it is wonderful to be out. I have missed it terribly. But there is not much difference between inside and outside. I hope the day will come when we can all regain our freedom together.”

Many others remain behind bars, including journalists, human rights activists, student protesters, LGBTQ activists and the elected mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu. Turkey’s prisons are currently overcrowded.

Erdogan and his party have denied in the past that arrests such as Imamoglu’s were politically motivated, insisting that the judiciary in Turkey is independent.