He had rejected Erdoğan's rally request: Diyanet launches investigation into Imam Yusuf Kılıç over Deniz Göktaş

The Presidency of Religious Affairs (Diyanet) has launched a new investigation into Imam Yusuf Kılıç, who has previously made headlines for his social media posts and the disciplinary penalties he received.

According to a report by İsmail Arı from BirGün, the reason for the investigation is a message of solidarity and support sent to the family of comedian Deniz Göktaş. As part of the investigation, Kılıç was summoned to the Diyanet Headquarters in Ankara to provide his defense.

Yusuf Kılıç first came to public attention in 2023 when he announced that he had rejected a request to transport his mosque congregation to an İzmir rally held by AKP Chairman and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Following this process, two separate disciplinary investigations were conducted against Kılıç, resulting in penalties of a reprimand and the suspension of his step advancement. Kılıç was subsequently reassigned outside of İzmir.

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Comedian Deniz Göktaş had become the subject of an investigation after his stand-up video titled “Ölü Deniz” (Dead Sea), compiled from a show he performed in Harbiye, received widespread viewership on YouTube.

Göktaş, who was detained at Istanbul Airport upon his return from a vacation abroad, was arrested and sent to prison by the court he was brought before following police procedures, on charges of “insulting the President” and “publicly inciting the people to hatred and hostility.”

News Source: 12punto