Imprisoned Comedian Deniz Göktaş Shares Witty 'First Month' Letter from Jail

Comedian Deniz Göktaş, currently detained on charges of inciting hatred and insulting the president for his stand-up show "Dead Deniz," has shared a letter from the Karatepe High-Security Prison. Marking his first month of incarceration, Göktaş used his X account to communicate his thoughts and experiences.

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Greetings from Karatepe High-Security Prison. I am writing these lines to you accompanied by the verses 'Love is a prison, and I am its inmate' coming from the cell right next to mine.

In his letter, Göktaş addressed a previous report, clarifying that he had not asked an unfamiliar lawyer to convey a message. He also corrected a statement about maintaining his "cheerfulness," explaining that the ironic quotation marks were lost in translation by the time the news reached him. He emphasized that his current mood is far from romantic, melancholic, or demanding, but rather positive.

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Let me start with a correction; a lawyer I don't know and haven't met spread information like 'Deniz said don't forget us.' I have neither such a feeling nor such a request.

Göktaş described his time in Tekirdağ, the fifth city he has spent significant time in after Ankara, Çorum, Antalya, and Istanbul. He noted that while he cannot offer tours, he is more familiar with the prison, the city's most visited spot, than many locals. He assured readers that his morale and health are good, and he has not felt bad for a single moment during his month in prison.

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My cheerfulness cannot be taken away.

He acknowledged that prison is not a place to be romanticized, recalling friends who had nervous breakdowns even in Monopoly's jail. However, he advised against entering prison unless absolutely necessary. Göktaş highlighted the importance of freedoms he now misses, such as family, friends, communication, and the ability to walk freely. He also found unexpected importance in small items like a keyboard and mustache scissors, the latter being a surprise necessity for maintaining his appearance. Despite the lack of mustache scissors on the canteen list, he humorously noted that his request for them was the only one left unanswered. He concluded by stating that while one should avoid prison, if doing one's job correctly leads to such a consequence, then one can sleep most peacefully, especially with no pending tasks or promises for the next day. He also described his facility as a "well-type" prison, recommending readers research the experiences of experts and long-term inmates.

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Don't go to prison unless you have to. Alongside the deprivations of family, friends, communication, and freedom of movement, a room without surveillance, sun, stage, walking on the street, there are also things whose importance I understand here.