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Turkish comedian Tuba Ulu was sentenced to five months in prison on July 14 over a sexually explicit joke involving Ottoman ruler Sultan Suleiman I and Hurrem Sultan during one of her stand-up performances.
The court found Ulu guilty of "publicly degrading a section of society" under Article 216/2 of the Turkish Penal Code. It initially handed down a six-month prison sentence before cutting the term to five months after taking her conduct during the proceedings into account.
The court also issued a deferred announcement of the verdict, a Turkish legal procedure commonly known by the acronym HAGB.
Ulu had initially faced proceedings on an accusation of "inciting the public to hatred and hostility" because of the joke featured in her stand-up show.
The case was put off until July 14 after the prosecutor submitted a final opinion calling for Ulu to be punished. The court delivered its decision during Tuesday's hearing, convicting her on the separate charge of publicly degrading a section of society.
Responding to the prosecutor's final opinion, Ulu rejected allegations that her performance had degraded women.
She said that, as a woman living in Türkiye, she had stood up for women's rights in different areas and had consistently sided with women in her comedy performances.
Ulu also denied acting with criminal intent, maintaining that she had never sought to look down on or divide any section of society. She asked the court to clear her of the charges, but the panel ultimately handed down the reduced five-month sentence.
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