An Istanbul court convicts comedian Deniz Göktaş of insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and sentences him to more than 19 months in prison. The court also finds him guilty of a separate offence related to the case, according to reports.
The conviction is tied to remarks described by multiple outlets as calling Erdoğan a “dictator” and involving issues of religious values. While Al-Monitor and Free Malaysia Today describe the judgment primarily as an “insult” to Erdoğan, ABC News and the Winnipeg Free Press emphasize that the charges include insulting religious values as well as Erdoğan himself. Despite the prison term, all outlets report that Göktaş is released pending the outcome of his appeal, meaning the sentence is not yet finalized.
