- Comedian Tuba Ulu was sentenced to five months in prison for "publicly degrading a segment of the public" in a case over a stand-up joke about Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent and his wife, Hürrem Sultan. The court ruled to suspend the announcement of the verdict.
Comedian Tuba Ulu, who was tried over a joke she made during a stand-up performance about Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent and his wife, Hürrem Sultan, was sentenced to five months in prison for "publicly degrading a segment of the public" under Article 216/2 of the Turkish Penal Code. The court ruled to suspend the announcement of the verdict.
Ulu and her lawyers attended the second hearing of the case at Istanbul's 13th Criminal Court of First Instance.
At the previous hearing, the prosecutor presented the final opinion on the merits and requested that Ulu be convicted.
Responding to the prosecutor's opinion, Ulu rejected allegations that she had engaged in conduct degrading women. She said she had long advocated for women's rights in Turkey and had always taken a stance in support of women in her stand-up performances. She requested acquittal.
Ulu's lawyer cited European Court of Human Rights case law on freedom of expression, arguing that his client's remarks had been taken out of context. He said Ulu had not degraded women but had instead criticized 16th-century attitudes toward women using contemporary concepts.
"A satire has been made the subject of criminal proceedings. My client did not commit the offense alleged against her. We request her acquittal," the lawyer said.
Ulu also noted that the prosecutor's final opinion had mistakenly written the phrase "fuck body" instead of "fuck buddy." She said the expression she used referred to a consensual relationship and therefore did not carry a meaning that degraded women's bodies.
In her closing statement, Ulu said she did not accept the allegations in either the indictment or the prosecutor's final opinion.
"I had no intent to commit a crime. I never intended to degrade or divide any segment of society. On the contrary, I have always sought to bring people together," she said.
The court initially sentenced Ulu to six months in prison for "publicly degrading a segment of the public." Taking into account her conduct during the trial, it reduced the sentence to five months and ruled to suspend the announcement of the verdict.
Background
The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office launched an investigation into Tuba Ulu after a clip from one of her stand-up performances circulated on social media. Ulu was detained and later released under judicial supervision. Prosecutors subsequently filed charges against her, seeking a prison sentence of up to three years.
