Comedian Egemen Şimşek was detained and arrested on charges of “insulting religious values embraced by a section of the public” for jokes he made in a stand-up show. The ruling media targeted Şimşek’s jokes about Jesus Christ and Moses, claiming that he insulted the two prophets. Şimşek’s arrest also revived the cases of YouTube programmer Boğaç Soydemir and Enes Akgündüz, who were previously detained on similar grounds. In these cases, he was charged with “inciting or insulting the public to hatred and hostility”.
September 30, 2025
Evrensel