Turkey detains satirical magazine staff over cartoon accused of insulting the Prophet Mohammed

France 24

21 hours ago

Four staff members at satirical Turkish magazine LeMan have been remanded in custody over claims that they published a caricature of the Prophet Mohammed, the government said on Wednesday.
The four, who deny the accusations, were arrested as part of a probe by prosecutors in Istanbul into what Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc called the "disrespectful drawing".
"An arrest warrant has been issued for two suspects currently abroad," he added on X.
The publication of the cartoon and arrests of staff at the opposition magazine led to clashes in Istanbul on Monday night.
News site T24 published the police deposition of cartoonist Dogan Pehlevan in which he said that he wanted "to talk about peace in this drawing" and condemned "provocateurs".
"I have been drawing in Turkey for many years. The first rule you learn is not to address religious issues and not to mock religion," he added.
"I have always adhered to this principle. I reject the accusations levelled against me."
The drawing in question shows two characters meeting in the sky above a city devastated by bombs. One is named Muhammad and the other Musa.
"I just wanted to highlight the absurdity of war, to show that people can get along but do you have to be dead to realise that? That's my only message," he added.
On Monday evening, a favourite haunt of LeMan staff in the Istiklal district of Istanbul was attacked.
It escalated into a pitched battle between about 300 people, including people defending the magazine and furious at the arrests.
On Tuesday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called the cartoon a "vile provocation" and a "hate crime" whose authors will have to answer for "disrespecting the prophet".
Despite a ban, some 300 people also gathered around Taksim Mosque in central Istanbul, shouting "don't forget Charlie Hebdo", referring to a deadly Islamist militant attack on the French magazine in 2015.
LeMan's editor-in-chief Tuncay Akgun told AFP that the drawing in question "has nothing to do with the Prophet Mohammed", adding: "We would never take such a risk."
"The character is a Muslim killed in Gaza... He was called Mohammed (like) more than 200 million people in the Muslim world," he said.