Balgarianovinite.com An Istanbul court has ordered the arrest of Turkish stand-up comedian Deniz Goktas, who was detained by police on Thursday at Istanbul Airport upon his return from abroad, Turkiye’s state broadcaster TRT Haber reported.
Goktas is under investigation over his original stand-up special, Dead Sea, which was also released on YouTube. Prosecutors allege that parts of the performance insult the religious values of Muslim citizens in Turkiye and contain remarks deemed offensive to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The show premiered at Istanbul’s Harbiye Cemil Topuzlu Open-Air Theatre on June 1 and quickly went viral, attracting 8.5 million views on social media within a week.
However, the comedian drew criticism from some members of the public and politicians over remarks that were interpreted as mocking passages from the Quran, Islam’s holy book, according to the Cumhuriyet newspaper.
Access to several posts on X containing clips from Goktas’ performance was blocked on the grounds of “protecting national security and public order”.
According to the prosecution, the investigation found elements in the comedy routine that constitute criminal offences under Turkish law.
When the detention order was issued, Goktas was abroad. He said at the time that he would report to the authorities as soon as he returned to Turkiye. Upon arriving in Istanbul on Thursday, he was detained at passport control and taken away in handcuffs, prompting criticism and protests from opposition circles.
The court hearing on whether to remand the popular comedian in custody lasted more than three hours. A large crowd gathered outside the courthouse in his support. To show solidarity, among those present, was the reinstated chairman of the main opposition Republican People’s Party Kemal Kilicdaroglu.
Appearing before the court, Goktas rejected the allegations, insisting that everything he said was part of a comedy performance.
“I don’t believe there was anything in the show that could reasonably be interpreted that way. The stand-up performance content came from a script that I had prepared in advance,” the comedian told the judge, according to Cumhuriyet.
Born in Ankara in 1995, Goktas initially studied Civil Engineering at the Middle East Technical University in Ankara before transferring to the Department of Psychology, where he completed his bachelor’s degree. He later earned a master’s degree in Cinema and Television from Kadir Has University in Istanbul.
Goktas began his stand-up career in 2019 at the TuzBiber Comedy Club, where he quickly gained recognition and established himself as one of Turkiye’s rising comedians. Istanbul Court Orders Arrest of Turkish Stand-up Comedian Deniz Goktas over Erdogan and Islam 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-07-03 16:58:11 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law