Deniz Göktaş to appear before judge for the first time tomorrow: 'I will be handcuffed for the first time in 88 days and hear a car horn'

The trial of comedian Deniz Göktaş, who was arrested due to statements made in his show titled "Dead Sea" (Ölü Deniz), will begin tomorrow. Göktaş will present his defense regarding the charges against him at the first hearing to be held at the Istanbul 14th Criminal Court of First Instance.

Göktaş, who has been held at the Çorlu Karatepe High-Security Penal Institution for approximately three months, is also expected to have his detention status evaluated following the hearing. Göktaş has been in prison since July 3.

Sharing a message on his social media account before the hearing, Göktaş stated, "Tomorrow, Monday, September 28, I have a hearing at the Çağlayan Courthouse at 10:00 AM. For the first time in 88 days, I will be handcuffed and hear a car horn."

Here is the statement Göktaş made from his X account:

"Greetings from the Karatepe High-Security Penal Institution,

Tomorrow, Monday, September 28, I have a hearing at the Çağlayan Courthouse at 10:00 AM.

For the first time in 88 days, I will be handcuffed and hear a car horn. It is certain that I haven't missed the handcuffs, let's see if I've missed the car horn?

I am fine. It turns out you can live without the sun; the sun was an overrated balloon.

A little news from the prison: There is excitement about moving up in class at Karatepe; a neighbor with 2 private jets has moved into our neighborhood. Everyone is trying to act in accordance with the radically increased level of prosperity overnight. In line with this, I chose a topic for this tweet that would count as a "rich person's problem": Prison and music.

I was never the type of person who said, "I can't live without music," in fact, I can live quite well without it, but it turns out I am the type of person who says, "I can't live without music for 88 days." In one of my dreams, when I realized I was released, I immediately put on Peyk, but it was playing something that wasn't Peyk. There is radio and Dream Türk, but it always plays something that isn't Peyk.

Now I'm afraid to praise it; I praised TRT 2, and it hasn't been there for the last month. Thanks to Radio 3, it played Gojira for 1 hour. Apart from such miraculous moments, there aren't many options. That's why I had to overcome my allergy to Turkish pop, which I had carried with adolescent stubbornness until this age. While preparing for my defense this week, Dream Türk was on for 24 hours. I only turn off the TV and go out to the courtyard when my neighbor Haluk Levent plays "Mamak Türküsü" or "Haziran’da Ölmek Zor." The only good thing about the well-type [cell] might be its acoustics.

If you watch Dream Türk for 24 hours, you can see Ezhel 4 times, we missed him. Other than that, Turkish pop. There is an epidemic of Girl Bands, Boy Bands, and Mixed Bands, everyone should be careful. Don't enter crowded places, you might suddenly become part of a choreography.

My favorites: 

Eypio & Sibel Can – Kıyamam 

Mabel Matiz – Umrumdışı

I was caught by the correctional officer while doing Mabel Matiz's "Ben büyüttüm boy boy" dance in my cell. I was also caught once while watching MasterChef on derby day, that makes two.

Let me end this soft topic I chose to get away from the agenda before the defense with a rap I wrote here. Bread is distributed at 9 in the morning. A few days a week, pastry is given along with the bread, and there is a croissant-like joy. On those days, the sound coming from the wheels of the service cart echoes in the corridor first. Then the officer distributing it shouts with a melody like a boza seller: "Bread and pastryyyy"

(With a Fuat Ergin style flow)

Bread and pastry

We have plenty of time

If there were no Cicibebe

What would happen to us

Menu full of carbs

No cheese, no half glass of Doluca

Haluk, Cem, Özkan, me

D Block four-leaf clover

See you later."

THREE SEPARATE CHARGES IN THE INDICTMENT

In the indictment prepared by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, it is requested that Göktaş be sentenced to 2 years and 7 months to 12 years and 2 months in prison for the crimes of "insulting the president," "publicly inciting the people to hatred and hostility," and "praising a crime and a criminal."

The basis of the case is some parts of the show titled "Dead Sea" (Ölü Deniz) that Göktaş published on his YouTube account on June 24. In the indictment, some statements directed at President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan were cited as the basis for the "insulting the president" charge.

The phrase "suicide bombers who fast" used in the show and some remarks regarding the Quran were also evaluated within the scope of "publicly inciting the people to hatred and hostility." The prosecution also alleged that the words used about people wearing covered clothing at the beach targeted a segment of society.

Furthermore, a joke Göktaş made about the "Daltons" was cited as one of the grounds for the "praising a crime and a criminal" charge. The prosecution argued that these statements legitimized the actions of the criminal group known in the public as the "Daltons Gang."

Göktaş, however, did not accept the charges in his statement to the prosecutor. Stating that his words should be evaluated within the scope of humor, Göktaş said that he had no intention of insulting religious values or a segment of society, or insulting the President.

Göktaş was detained at Istanbul Airport upon his return from vacation on July 2 and was arrested at the courthouse where he was referred the next day. Although a release decision was later made for him, he was re-arrested before leaving prison due to another part of the same show. An access ban was imposed on the "Dead Sea" (Ölü Deniz) video in Turkey.