Turkish authorities have detained stand-up comedian Emre Günsal over allegations of insulting Turkey’s founder Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and the famous mystic Rumi, BirGün newspaper reported on Friday.

The chief public prosecutor in the central Konya, one of the most conservative provinces in the country, launched an investigation against Günsal following a social media outrage against the humourist.

The routine in question included jokes over the daily life of Rumi and his spiritual instructor Shams, who Günsal said had been lovers, echoing a viewpoint shared by some scholars.

Atatürk, who died of cirrhosis at the age of 57, was “the country’s most successful alcoholic,” Günsal said in his act, musing about how Turkey’s first president could have scolded other drinkers and say, “My brother, don’t drink if you can’t even dismantle the sultanate!”

Günsal is currently held in custody at Istanbul’s police headquarters, where he will face a judge over videoconference, as is required by Turkey’s coronavirus measures.