Deniz Göktaş re-arrested after release order: 'A new charge comes up every two months'

Comedian Deniz Göktaş, who has been held in prison for approximately two months without an indictment being filed, was re-arrested on a different charge following a release order issued in his case.

An objection filed against Göktaş's detention was accepted by the Istanbul Criminal Court of First Instance. However, after the release order, Göktaş was brought before the Istanbul 4th Criminal Judgeship of Peace and was re-arrested on charges of "praising a crime and a criminal."

In a statement on his social media account, Göktaş stated that the new arrest warrant was based on a joke he made about the "Daltons" criminal group.

Good news: I was released. Bad news: I was arrested. I learned these two pieces of news at the same speed you did. This time, I was arrested for "praising a crime and a criminal" over a joke about the Daltons.

"I WAS JUST TALKING ABOUT COMEDY"

Göktaş stated that while he was in prison, he was taken to a courtroom for an "urgent SEGBIS" (Audio and Visual Information System) session, that his lawyers were not notified, and that the text subject to the accusation was read to him.

In his post, the comedian argued that new charges are being fabricated from the jokes in his show, saying, "A new charge comes up every two months from a 90-minute show."

Deniz Göktaş was detained at the airport upon his return from an overseas vacation following his stand-up show titled "Ölü Deniz" (Dead Sea) and was arrested on July 3. It was reported that an investigation had been launched against Göktaş on charges of "insulting religious values" and later, "insulting the President" was added.

It is stated that Göktaş has been held in prison for approximately 58 days, yet no indictment has been prepared against him. An access ban was issued for the comedian's Harbiye show published on YouTube, which had reportedly been viewed approximately 15 million times.