Deniz Göktaş re-arrested on charges for which he was released: Two separate arrest warrants

Following an appeal by the prosecutor's office against the release decision granted to him on charges of "insulting the President" and "inciting the public to hatred and hostility," Deniz Göktaş was re-arrested on the same charges by the Istanbul 28th High Criminal Court.

The Istanbul 28th High Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Göktaş, who is currently in prison, citing the "suspicion of flight" as the reason.

Göktaş had been granted a release decision on August 28 following an appeal against his detention.

On the same day, before he could be released from prison, Göktaş was re-arrested on charges of "praising a crime and a criminal."

What happened?

Deniz Göktaş had uploaded his show titled "Ölü Deniz" (Dead Sea), which he performed in Harbiye, to his YouTube channel. As of July 3, the video's view count was approaching 10 million. In his show, Göktaş performed critical comedy on many topics, including domestic politics, military operations, Ancient Greece, the television world, and AKP Chairman and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

An investigation had been launched against Göktaş on charges of "insulting the President" and "publicly degrading religious values adopted by a section of the public." Göktaş was detained at Istanbul Airport after returning from abroad.

The Istanbul Criminal Court of First Instance, which reviewed the appeal against Deniz Göktaş's detention, issued a release decision on August 28.

Following the release decision, Göktaş was brought before a criminal judgeship of peace via SEGBİS on charges of "praising a crime and a criminal."

The Istanbul 4th Criminal Judgeship of Peace issued an arrest warrant for Göktaş due to the following remarks in his show: "With today's front-row ticket proceeds—though the front row is filled with municipal guests, so there's no income there. Let's say the second row, it's safer. With today's second-row ticket proceeds, we can hire a hitman in Turkey and have a rival comedian killed. That's the state of the market right now. Just the second row, and a Telegram group. You write 'Daltonlar' there, it's a very corporate communication. You deposit the money via Bitcoin, and they don't even track it. You get a photo when they kill them, that was it, right brother? He had a twin, but that was my mistake. You deposit it again, it's a magnificent system..."

The judgeship evaluated the aforementioned statements as "expressions that praise, legitimize, and facilitate access to crime by a known criminal group called the 'Daltonlar Gang'."

The Istanbul 4th Criminal Judgeship of Peace issued the arrest warrant on the grounds of "suspicion of flight and tampering with evidence."

News Source: 12punto