Turkish court convicts comedian of insulting president, orders release

An Istanbul court convicted comedian Deniz Göktaş on Monday of insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and insulting religious values, but ordered his release pending appeal, an AFP reporter in the courtroom said. The 32-year-old satirist, who has spent nearly three months in Karatepe high-security prison, was sentenced to just over 19 months in prison, according to the report. The conviction came after a lively hearing in which Göktaş offered a quick-witted defence that had much of the courtroom laughing.

He was initially charged with insulting Erdoğan, incitement to public hatred, and praising crime and criminals. During Monday's hearing, the judge amended the second charge to insulting religious values and convicted him on that count as well, while acquitting him on the third charge, the AFP correspondent reported. In court, Göktaş defended a line from his routine in which he called Erdoğan "a shy dictator," arguing that the phrase was not an insult.

He told the court that a political comedy show that never mentioned Erdoğan would be "neither sincere nor have any connection to reality," and that "Erdoğan should be open to the art of satire." Göktaş also drew a contrast with earlier eras of Turkish satire. "None of Turkey's most famous comedians or political satirists had been prosecuted in the past, when these kinds of criticisms were received much more positively by society and those in power than they are today," he said. "The laws protecting freedom of expression have not changed since that time. But today, a comedian is sitting in a cell. The joke hasn’t changed. What has changed is the increasingly fragile leadership that can no longer tolerate the joke."

Outside, around 50 protesters gathered in the rain, chanting "Deniz Goktas is not alone!" Göktaş's detention has been seen as part of a widening crackdown on dissent in Turkey. Human Rights Watch has warned of "far-reaching restrictions on the main political opposition party, the media, and freedom of expression in general," according to the BBC.

The judge ordered Göktaş's interim release until the sentence is finalised, which can only happen after review by an appeals court. The release stands in contrast to his pre-trial detention, which began after police detained him at Istanbul Airport as he returned from a trip abroad, days after prosecutors opened an investigation into his show. Göktaş has denied the charges, saying his jokes were not intended to insult religious values or the president.

In a statement to police, he said his description of Erdoğan as a "dictator" was a political definition and not an insult, according to the Jerusalem Post. He has said he intends to remain in Turkey and will return if his presence is required.