San Francisco Frontiers - Turkish comedian convicted for Erdogan 'insult' freed pending appeal

Nearly three months after he was arrested over jokes in one of his stand-up shows, 32-year-old Deniz Goktas walked out of Karatepe high security prison, beaming as he was greeted by family, fans and supporters, footage broadcast on social media showed.

"In Turkey... there are thousands of people like me who are being held in custody or convicted for their opinions. It's great to be out," 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 "Dead Sea" show on YouTube, which went viral, reaching nine million views.

His arrest was part of a widening crackdown on anyone seen as critical of Turkey's Islamo-conservative government or its values that has swept up politicians, journalists, musicians, artists, LGBTQ activists and many others.

Earlier, Goktas appeared before an Istanbul court as his trial opened for insulting Erdogan, incitement to public hatred and praising crime and criminals, at which he offered a quick-witted defence that had much of the courtroom in stitches.

The judge convicted him on the first charge, amended the second charge to "insulting religious values" and convicted him of that too, while acquitting him on charge three, an AFP correspondent said.

He was sentenced to just over 19 months prison. But until the sentence is finalised -- which only happens after it is reviewed by an appeals court -- the judge ordered his release.

It was not immediately clear how long the process would take.

When the hearing opened, Goktas took to the stand to weave a defence rich in political satire, making witty observations.

- 'Can't take a joke' -

In the indictment, prosecutors singled out a line in which he called Erdogan "a shy dictator" but Goktas insisted there was "no criminal element" there.

"Dictator is not an insult: it is a political characterisation," he said.

"As the president and leader of the party that has ruled the country for 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 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," Goktas continued.

"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."

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 US embassies.

He asked to be acquitted and released.

"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," 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 of Alanya who recently started doing stand-up.

"I am not afraid to do stand-up after his arrest. I will keep doing it," 22-year-old Fatih Yilmaz told AFP.

"His arrest made me feel proud. His strong stance and the way he keeps making jokes from his prison cell keep me going."

J.Peterson--SFF