Turkish comedian sentenced, released pending appeal

An Istanbul court on September 28 sentenced comedian Deniz Göktaş to a combined 19 months and 10 days in prison over material in a stand-up performance, then ordered him released pending appeal after about 88 days in pretrial detention. The court sentenced Göktaş to 11 months and 20 days for insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. It imposed a further seven months and 15 days on a second offense, which courtroom reporting described as insulting religious values. The sentence is not final and remains subject to review by an appeals court. The accounts differ on the legal description of that second conviction. Most courtroom reports said the judge treated the count as insulting religious values, while another account described it as publicly inciting hatred and enmity. The available reporting does not resolve the discrepancy. The judge acquitted Göktaş of a separate charge of praising crime and criminals, linked in reports to a joke about the Daltons, an organized-crime group. Göktaş, 32, had been held since July 3, following the online circulation of a video from his show, Dead Sea. Prosecutors cited remarks that included describing Erdoğan as a dictator.