Archive · 24 Sep 2025
Turkish Court Jails Comedian, Rapper Over Religious Joke
Imagine two friends making a video.
They told a joke that some people thought was making fun of a religious teaching.
This upset some people.
Authorities in Turkey got involved and decided to put the two friends in jail while they look into the situation.
The friends said they didn't mean to cause trouble and apologized.
They explained that the joke was actually a comment from a viewer, which they misread on air, not realizing that the joke could be offensive.
This comes after other cases where people in Turkey were punished for things they said about religion.
YouTuber Bogac Soydemir and rapper Enes Akgunduz were jailed by an Istanbul court.
The jailing followed a joke referencing a hadith.
Authorities alleged the joke could incite religious hatred.
Both men apologized and denied wrongdoing.
The case follows the jailing of cartoonists over a cartoon deemed to depict Prophets Muhammad and Moses.
- Who
- Bogac Soydemir, a YouTuber, and Enes Akgunduz, a rapper.
- What
- Were jailed following a joke referencing a hadith.
- When
- Jailed on Tuesday.
- Where
- Istanbul, Turkey.
- Why
- Accused of inciting religious hatred.
- Incident
- Jailing of a comedian and rapper
- Accusation
- Inciting religious hatred
- Offense
- Joke referencing a hadith
- Location
- Istanbul, Turkey
- Defendants
- Bogac Soydemir and Enes Akgunduz