A popular Turkish comedian was arrested on arrival at Istanbul airport on Thursday over a stand-up show that involved material that prosecutors said was allegedly offensive to Islam.

The arrest of Deniz Goktas, 32, came as the authorities have broadened a crackdown on anyone seen as critical of Turkey’s Islamo-conservative government or its values, with mounting legal probes into musicians, artists, journalists and politicians among others.

“Deniz Goktas was apprehended at Istanbul Airport on July 2,” the Istanbul public prosecutors’ office said in a statement.

It said it had received 185 complaints about his show and that he was under investigation on charges of “publicly insulting religious values”.

A standup performance he gave in Istanbul on June 1 was released in a 90-minute video on YouTube on June 24 and has since been viewed nearly nine million times.

The show took a satirical look at political developments in Turkey, with Goktas speaking about President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his jailed political rival, Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, whose arrest last year sparked mass street protests.

Several days later, prosecutors opened an investigation into the comedian, saying the show involved “offensive statements that constituted a criminal offence”.

Goktas — who said on X he was on holiday abroad at the time — flew back to Turkey on Thursday.

Turkish media said the 32-year-old Ankara-born comedian began his career in stand-up at Istanbul’s TuzBiber comedy club in 2019. He has since gone on to perform at venues across Europe and the US.

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