Turkey arrests 4 satirical magazine staff for inciting ‘public hatred' with cartoon
The cartoon, published in the weekly LeMan magazine, sparked a backlash from government officials and religious groups, culminating in protests outside the magazine's Istanbul offices. Authorities claim that the cartoon violates laws against provoking hostility and social divisions.
The magazine denies the allegations.
In a statement, LeMan said the illustration portrays a Muslim named Muhammad, not the Prophet, and was intended to highlight the suffering of Muslims during armed conflict.
On Wednesday, a court in Istanbul ordered four staff — LeMan's cartoonist Dogan Pehlevan, Editor-in-Chief Zafer Aknar, graphic designer Cebrail Okcu, and manager Ali Yavuz — be detained in custody pending a trial, TRT television reported.
Authorities have also issued warrants for two editors believed to be abroad, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported.
Footage released by the Interior Ministry earlier this week showed some of the detainees, including Pehlevan and Yavuz, being forcibly taken from their homes with their hands cuffed behind their backs.
The pro-government Yeni Safak newspaper said the cartoon showed 'two figures alleged to be Prophet Muhammad and Prophet Moses — with wings and halos — shaking hands in the sky, while a war scene unfolds below with bombs raining down.' The independent Birgun newspaper said the winged figures hovering in the sky were interpreted by some as Prophets Muhammad and Moses.
LeMan has apologized to readers for any offence caused by the cartoon, but maintains that the drawing was misinterpreted. It has also asked judicial authorities to defend freedom of expression and shield its staff from ongoing threats.
The cartoon triggered protests outside the magazine's Istanbul office, with demonstrators — reportedly from an Islamist organization -- throwing rocks at the building. Tensions flared again Tuesday, with dozens staging a demonstration following noon prayers at a mosque in central Istanbul.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called the cartoon a 'clear provocation disguised as humor' and vowed that 'those who insult the Prophet and other messengers will be held accountable before the law.'
Ozgur Ozel, the leader of Turkey's main opposition, however, expressed support to the magazine, stating that he does not consider the cartoon to be depicting the prophet.
'I see an angel who died in a bombardment in Gaza, with a halo and wings, who encounters another angel also killed by a bomb. They meet each other in the sky,' he said.
Ozel added: 'I will not allow any disrespect to the Prophet Muhammad, but I won't remain silent toward a social lynching based on a non-existent disrespect.'
The incident has reignited debate about press freedom in Turkey, which ranks 159th out of 180 countries in the 2025 Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Index. Critics argue that laws intended to curb hate speech are increasingly being used to silence dissenting voices.
__
Fraser reported from Ankara, Turkey.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Israel showed that seizing air superiority isn't gone from modern warfare, but Iran isn't China or Russia
Military officials and experts warn that air superiority may not be possible in modern warfare. Israel, however, was able to quickly achieve it against Iran. Iran, though capable, isn't bringing the same fight that a foe like Russia or China could. Israel swiftly seized air superiority over parts of Iran during the latest fight, showing that it's still possible in modern, higher-end warfare to heavily dominate an enemy's skies. But there's a risk in taking the wrong lesson from that win. Iran isn't Russia or China, and as the West readies for potential near-peer conflict, it really can't afford to forget that, officials and experts have cautioned. Western military officials and warfare experts have repeatedly warned in recent years that achieving air superiority against those countries would be a daunting task. Russia and China, especially the latter, boast sophisticated, integrated air defense networks with ground-based interceptors well supported by capable air forces, electronic warfare, and reliable space-based and airborne intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance. Air superiority in a limited theater is not the same as breaking through a complex anti-access, area-denial setup. Israel's victory in the air war over Iran shows that air superiority is "not impossible" in modern warfare, former Australian Army Maj. Gen. Mick Ryan, a warfare strategist, explained. That said, he continued, a Western conflict with Russia or China would be "very different." Israel attacked nuclear and military sites in Iran in bombing runs and eliminated dozens of Iranian air defense batteries. Justin Bronk, an airpower expert at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), said it "highlights what you can do with a modern air force against some, on paper, fairly impressive defenses." Iran maintained a capable layered air defense network featuring domestic systems, foreign-supplied defenses, and some modernized older systems. Though only semi-integrated compared to fully networked air defenses, it presented an obstacle. Israel dismantled Iranian defenses over multiple engagements through extensive planning, detailed intelligence, and the employment of combat-proven airpower, specifically fifth-generation F-35 stealth fighters built for penetration and suppression of enemy air defenses and fourth-generation F-15s and F-16s, which can also support that mission. Important to Israel's success in the latest fight with Iran were the engagements last year that substantially weakened Iranian air defense capabilities, as well as Israel's skills in this mission. Failures and aircraft losses in the 1973 Yom Kippur War led it to reevaluate how it approached enemy air defenses, in many ways leading to the emergence of the kind of missions used against Iran. Ed Arnold, a security expert at RUSI, said that Israel reporting no aircraft losses "was significant, and it just showed that, yeah, you can get air supremacy very quickly." The caveat there is that doing so requires the right tactics, weapons, and intelligence, but even then, it is not guaranteed. Retired Air Commodore Andrew Curtis, an airfare expert with a 35-year career in the Royal Air Force, told BI "the situation that everybody's been used to over the last 30 years is air supremacy," but when it comes to high-intensity war against a near-peer adverary, realistically, "those days are long gone." Iran had air defenses, but not airpower. It's air force is largely made up of obsolete Western, Soviet, and Chinese aircraft. The ground-based surface-to-air missile batteries are more capable, but that's only one part of the defensive picture. Curtis explained that Iran has "very little in the way of air defense aircraft, whereas of course Russia, and especially China, has stacks of them." Both Russia and China field fourth-generation-plus aircraft, as well as fifth-generation fighters. China, in particular, has multiple fifth-gen fighters in various stages of development, and there are indications it's working on sixth-generation prototypes. By comparison, Iran's air force looks a lot like a plane museum. But they also boast more advanced and more effective air defenses. Bronk said Russia's defenses are "better networked, more capable, more numerous, and more densely layered than Iran's." He said that if the West rolled back the SAM threat, it would likely be able to overcome Russia's air force, but China is a different story. China has a complex integrated air defense network supported by ground-based air defenses, naval air defenses, and what Bronk characterized as "an increasingly very capable modern air force," among other capabilities. And China also has a "far greater and more sophisticated missile arsenal for striking bases" to hamstring an enemy's airpower. Additionally, it holds a strong economic position with an industrial base that is turning out high-end weapons. China has also been tremendously increasing its number of interceptors without really expending any, unlike the US, which has been burning through interceptors in Middle Eastern conflicts. Not all of China has the same protections, but breaking through defenses would likely represent a substantial challenge in a conflict, especially in something like a Taiwan contingency. A conflict between the West and China could look like "a more traditional air war" — something not seen in a long time, Curtis said, explaining that air-to-air combat could make a comeback, with pilots again shooting down enemy planes. "In a peer-on-peer conflict, certainly with China, you would see a lot of that, because China has got a lot of air assets." Achieving air superiority, as Israel did recently and as the US did in the Gulf War in the 1990s and in the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan in the 2000s, has been crucial to the Western way of war, often serving as a tool to enable ground maneuvers. Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which failed to knock out Ukraine's air defenses, now far more robust than at the start of the war, has shown what a conflict looks like when it isn't achieved. Aircraft are shot out of the sky, and ground forces are locked in grinding slogs. Devastating long-range attacks are still possible, but quick victory is generally not. It has resulted in some stark warnings for future warfare. Speaking on air superiority, Gen. James Hecker, the commander of NATO's air command, warned last year that "it's not a given." He added that "if we can't get air superiority, we're going to be doing the fight that's going on in Russia and Ukraine right now." Other military leaders have said that air superiority may only be achieved in short bursts. War is full of surprises, but evidence indicates that's a real possibility. Achieving Curtis said air planners now have to focus on specific priorities, like protecting air bases, and figuring out how to achieve a "localized time-bound air superiority or air supremacy in support of a short-term mission or operation." "It's a different mindset," he said. The key in future wars will be to seize control of as much of the aerial battlespace as possible to do what's necessary in the moment, all while holding firm defensively, as Israel did against Iran's retaliatory ballistic missile strikes, experts said. That means maintaining a strong air force and strong air defenses. "Nothing in Ukraine or Israel has shown that air superiority isn't needed in the future," Ryan shared. "I think they've both shown that having air superiority is an extraordinarily important part of warfare and remains so. Read the original article on Business Insider
CNN
2 hours ago
- CNN
Activists sound alarm over US cuts to programs providing internet access and promoting democracy in Iran
Days after Israel began striking Iran's nuclear and military sites last month, a US non-profit that has provided Starlink internet service to Iranian citizens asked the State Department to urgently reinstate their funding, according to two sources familiar with the outreach. More than a week later, the request from NetFreedom Pioneers (NFP) has not been granted. At the same time, the White House has proposed cutting all but a few programs in the State Department's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor – including those that work to get Iranians internet access, a third source familiar said. The Trump administration has for months slashed foreign assistance, but the freeze of NFP funding and the possible additional cuts at the State Department came at a critical time as Iranian society grappled with the Israeli strikes that hit sites throughout the country and killed senior military leaders. During the nearly two weeks of conflict between Iran and Israel, Tehran imposed internet blackouts nationwide – leaving Iranians unable to quickly access information or contact loved ones outside the country. Within the State Department, career officials are frustrated that money that could help Iranians isn't getting out the door. 'Even if programs are active, a number of them are struggling because payments aren't being made on time,' a State Department official familiar with the issue told CNN. After Secretary Marco Rubio's order to pause foreign assistance in January, a new level of bureaucracy sunk in that has delayed funding disbursements for numerous programs across the department, including those related to Iran, the official said. The State Department's pending reorganization, and the proposed cuts to aid programs, mean it's hard for department officials to be optimistic in conversations over funding with nonprofits, according to the official. 'You can read the tea leaves whether you're in the department or not,' they added. Though the Trump administration is pursuing a diplomatic deal with Iran, President Donald Trump raised the idea of regime change in a social media post the day after the US carried out strikes against Iran's nuclear sites. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt later implied that any regime change wouldn't come through US force while floating the idea of the Iranian people 'rising up against' the regime if it does not give up its nuclear program. But Iranians are struggling for online access to independent information about their government. 'Without access to the open internet, Iranian people are trapped inside the regime's propaganda bubble. The Internet disruptions in Iran allows the government to revive anti-American and anti-Israel sentiment and rewrite the truth after the 12-day military conflict,' said Mehdi Yahyanejad, an Iranian-American democracy activist. NFP, the non-profit organization, has received US government grants to get the Elon Musk-backed Starlink kits inside Iran for more than two years. Those kits have allowed Iranians to more easily access the internet, avoid government censorship and access blocked sites, even amid the blackouts. 'Iran is at a critical juncture, and millions depend on tools like VPNs, Starlink, and satellite file-casting—many of which are supported by US government funding—to access uncensored information,' Evan Firoozi, the executive director of NFP, told CNN. 'The proposed termination of nearly all overseas pro-democracy programs by the US government threatens to sever this vital lifeline, leaving countless individuals without access to free and trustworthy information,' he said. Last year, the group received about $150,000 in US government funding and expected to receive the same amount this year. But the grant was unexpectedly halted in January amid the administration's foreign aid freeze, and the group has been given no clear indication when or if the funding will be reinstated. NFP worked to get about 200 Starlink kits inside Iran after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in 2022 sparked massive protests nationwide. The Iranian government throttled internet access inside the country as part of its attempt to quell the unrest. There was a concerted effort by the US government at the time to support internet access in Iran. US funding for NFP helped to pay the subscription fees for the kits inside Iran, develop technology for the kits to be used more effectively, and enabled the group to get more kits into the country. After the funding cut, only about half of the Starlink kits the group managed to get into Iran are operational. Some Trump officials have urged support for Starlink service in Iran. 'Can you turn on @Starlink for free in Iran for the next few weeks, @elonmusk?' Richard Grenell, who currently serves as a special envoy and was the former acting director of national intelligence in the first Trump administration, posted on X on June 21. 'My friends inside Iran don't have regular access to information right now.' Grenell did not respond to multiple requests for comment. NFP is not the only Iran-focused tech group pressing the Trump administration for funding. Psiphon, an open-source software tool that millions of Iranians use to evade censorship, is running out State Department funding, according to Ali Tehrani, Psiphon's director of DC operations. Tehrani told CNN that he has repeatedly appealed to the State Department to disperse funds he says are available through the end of the fiscal year in September, but State Department officials have not committed to doing so. If the funding doesn't arrive, he said, the app simply won't be available to Iranians at scale. 'It's so ironic that when people actually need it, you just do not have access,' Tehrani said. 'That is exactly the time that the Islamic Republic feeds their propaganda to them.' Use of the Psiphon app in Iran surged during the 2022 protests over Amini's death, Tehrani said. 'That was only possible because the State Department back then was very cooperative in terms of making this happen.' The State Department did not provide a comment when asked about the funding for NFP or Psiphon. CNN has requested comment from Iran's mission to the United Nations. Meanwhile, the White House's Office of Management and Budget has proposed widespread cuts at the State Department. Among the nearly 400 programs they recommended be cut from the State Department Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor are those fighting and tracking internet censorship in places like Iran, the third source familiar told CNN. Other programs supported efforts to provide virtual private networks, or VPNs, to allow free internet access in authoritarian countries. The proposed cuts from OMB come in addition to the scores of foreign assistance contracts that have already been slashed or suspended at the State Department and now-defunct USAID. It is unclear if the State Department will take OMB's recommendations, but the Democracy, Human Rights and Labor bureau is expected to undergo a radical shift away from human rights work as part of the agency's reorganization plan. Christopher Le Mon, who served as a deputy assistant in the bureau during the Obama administration, criticized the potential cuts. 'Zeroing out millions of dollars a year in support for human rights defenders, for the women and men fighting abuses by the awful regime in Tehran is not only a moral travesty – it's also completely at odds with the Trump Administration's own Iran policy, and goes against years of directives and support for these programs from Republican and Democratic Members of Congress including then-Senator Rubio,' he said.
CNN
2 hours ago
- CNN
Activists sound alarm over US cuts to programs providing internet access and promoting democracy in Iran
Days after Israel began striking Iran's nuclear and military sites last month, a US non-profit that has provided Starlink internet service to Iranian citizens asked the State Department to urgently reinstate their funding, according to two sources familiar with the outreach. More than a week later, the request from NetFreedom Pioneers (NFP) has not been granted. At the same time, the White House has proposed cutting all but a few programs in the State Department's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor – including those that work to get Iranians internet access, a third source familiar said. The Trump administration has for months slashed foreign assistance, but the freeze of NFP funding and the possible additional cuts at the State Department came at a critical time as Iranian society grappled with the Israeli strikes that hit sites throughout the country and killed senior military leaders. During the nearly two weeks of conflict between Iran and Israel, Tehran imposed internet blackouts nationwide – leaving Iranians unable to quickly access information or contact loved ones outside the country. Within the State Department, career officials are frustrated that money that could help Iranians isn't getting out the door. 'Even if programs are active, a number of them are struggling because payments aren't being made on time,' a State Department official familiar with the issue told CNN. After Secretary Marco Rubio's order to pause foreign assistance in January, a new level of bureaucracy sunk in that has delayed funding disbursements for numerous programs across the department, including those related to Iran, the official said. The State Department's pending reorganization, and the proposed cuts to aid programs, mean it's hard for department officials to be optimistic in conversations over funding with nonprofits, according to the official. 'You can read the tea leaves whether you're in the department or not,' they added. Though the Trump administration is pursuing a diplomatic deal with Iran, President Donald Trump raised the idea of regime change in a social media post the day after the US carried out strikes against Iran's nuclear sites. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt later implied that any regime change wouldn't come through US force while floating the idea of the Iranian people 'rising up against' the regime if it does not give up its nuclear program. But Iranians are struggling for online access to independent information about their government. 'Without access to the open internet, Iranian people are trapped inside the regime's propaganda bubble. The Internet disruptions in Iran allows the government to revive anti-American and anti-Israel sentiment and rewrite the truth after the 12-day military conflict,' said Mehdi Yahyanejad, an Iranian-American democracy activist. NFP, the non-profit organization, has received US government grants to get the Elon Musk-backed Starlink kits inside Iran for more than two years. Those kits have allowed Iranians to more easily access the internet, avoid government censorship and access blocked sites, even amid the blackouts. 'Iran is at a critical juncture, and millions depend on tools like VPNs, Starlink, and satellite file-casting—many of which are supported by US government funding—to access uncensored information,' Evan Firoozi, the executive director of NFP, told CNN. 'The proposed termination of nearly all overseas pro-democracy programs by the US government threatens to sever this vital lifeline, leaving countless individuals without access to free and trustworthy information,' he said. Last year, the group received about $150,000 in US government funding and expected to receive the same amount this year. But the grant was unexpectedly halted in January amid the administration's foreign aid freeze, and the group has been given no clear indication when or if the funding will be reinstated. NFP worked to get about 200 Starlink kits inside Iran after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in 2022 sparked massive protests nationwide. The Iranian government throttled internet access inside the country as part of its attempt to quell the unrest. There was a concerted effort by the US government at the time to support internet access in Iran. US funding for NFP helped to pay the subscription fees for the kits inside Iran, develop technology for the kits to be used more effectively, and enabled the group to get more kits into the country. After the funding cut, only about half of the Starlink kits the group managed to get into Iran are operational. Some Trump officials have urged support for Starlink service in Iran. 'Can you turn on @Starlink for free in Iran for the next few weeks, @elonmusk?' Richard Grenell, who currently serves as a special envoy and was the former acting director of national intelligence in the first Trump administration, posted on X on June 21. 'My friends inside Iran don't have regular access to information right now.' Grenell did not respond to multiple requests for comment. NFP is not the only Iran-focused tech group pressing the Trump administration for funding. Psiphon, an open-source software tool that millions of Iranians use to evade censorship, is running out State Department funding, according to Ali Tehrani, Psiphon's director of DC operations. Tehrani told CNN that he has repeatedly appealed to the State Department to disperse funds he says are available through the end of the fiscal year in September, but State Department officials have not committed to doing so. If the funding doesn't arrive, he said, the app simply won't be available to Iranians at scale. 'It's so ironic that when people actually need it, you just do not have access,' Tehrani said. 'That is exactly the time that the Islamic Republic feeds their propaganda to them.' Use of the Psiphon app in Iran surged during the 2022 protests over Amini's death, Tehrani said. 'That was only possible because the State Department back then was very cooperative in terms of making this happen.' The State Department did not provide a comment when asked about the funding for NFP or Psiphon. CNN has requested comment from Iran's mission to the United Nations. Meanwhile, the White House's Office of Management and Budget has proposed widespread cuts at the State Department. Among the nearly 400 programs they recommended be cut from the State Department Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor are those fighting and tracking internet censorship in places like Iran, the third source familiar told CNN. Other programs supported efforts to provide virtual private networks, or VPNs, to allow free internet access in authoritarian countries. The proposed cuts from OMB come in addition to the scores of foreign assistance contracts that have already been slashed or suspended at the State Department and now-defunct USAID. It is unclear if the State Department will take OMB's recommendations, but the Democracy, Human Rights and Labor bureau is expected to undergo a radical shift away from human rights work as part of the agency's reorganization plan. Christopher Le Mon, who served as a deputy assistant in the bureau during the Obama administration, criticized the potential cuts. 'Zeroing out millions of dollars a year in support for human rights defenders, for the women and men fighting abuses by the awful regime in Tehran is not only a moral travesty – it's also completely at odds with the Trump Administration's own Iran policy, and goes against years of directives and support for these programs from Republican and Democratic Members of Congress including then-Senator Rubio,' he said.
