Statement from lawyers of Deniz Göktaş, who was re-arrested after his release: A September 12 mentality

Stating that the process "is reminiscent of the September 12 era," Göktaş's lawyers said, "The prosecution's introduction of this new charge minutes after the release decision and outside of business hours, in an investigation that has completed its second month, creates the suspicion that the mentality of 'keeping a person in prison no matter what,' which took shape in the 1970s and during the September 12 period, has been revived."

A release decision was issued for comedian Deniz Göktaş following an appeal against his detention.

Following the release decision, Göktaş was brought before the criminal judgeship of peace via SEGBİS and was re-arrested on charges of "praising a crime and a criminal" before he could leave the prison.

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

In their statement, Göktaş's lawyers said the following:

"In accordance with Article 108 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CMK), our client Deniz Göktaş's detention is reviewed every thirty days. The last detention review was conducted on 24.08.2026, and it was decided that our client's detention would continue.

The appeal we filed against this decision was accepted by the Istanbul Duty Court of First Instance as of 17:03 today, and it was decided that our client be released from both charges for which he was detained (Insulting the President and Inciting the Public to Hatred and Hostility).

We regret to state that, before a release warrant could even be written to the prison regarding this decision, our client was referred to the Istanbul 4th Criminal Judgeship of Peace (the initial arrest warrant was also issued by this judgeship) with a request for arrest on the grounds that he committed the crime of 'Praising a Crime and a Criminal' by allegedly praising the Daltonlar gang in his stand-up show titled 'Dead Sea' (Ölü Deniz). A lawyer was appointed from the Bar Association without notifying us about these proceedings, and as a result, our client was re-arrested without being released.

The prosecution's introduction of this new charge minutes after the release decision and outside of business hours, in an investigation that has completed its second month, creates the suspicion that the mentality of 'keeping a person in prison no matter what,' which took shape in the 1970s and during the September 12 period, has been revived.

Undoubtedly, we will use all our rights to appeal to the fullest extent and will continue to fight to the maximum extent within the boundaries of the law for justice to be served."

News Source: 12punto