Journalists detained in Turkey over alleged Prophet Muhammad cartoon

Four employees of a satirical magazine have been detained in Turkey for allegedly depicting the Prophet Muhammad in a cartoon, the British broadcaster BBC reports.
The Prophet Muhammad is a sacred religious figure in Islam, and his depiction is prohibited. Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya condemned the cartoon by the satirical magazine LeMan as “shameless” and said that the magazine’s editor-in-chief, graphic designer, director and cartoonist had been detained. However, LeMan denies that the cartoon caricatured the Prophet Muhammad.
On the 30th of June, hundreds of people took to the streets of Istanbul to protest against the cartoon, and police forces were involved. An AFP correspondent reported that rubber bullets and tear gas were used to disperse the crowd.
The Turkish Ministry of Justice reported that the attorney general’s office had opened an investigation into “public insult to religious values.” The

LeMan journalists will face legal action, and arrest warrants have been issued for other magazine staff.

A picture circulating on social media shows two figures hovering over a city under fire, one saying “Peace be upon you, I am Muhammad” and the other responding “Peace be upon you, I am Musa.” LeMan has apologised to readers who felt offended, but has defended the work, saying the cartoon does not depict the prophet.
The magazine said in a statement on microblogging site X that the artist had not intended to offend anyone’s religious sentiments. The magazine’s editor-in-chief told AFP that the cartoon had been misunderstood and that the magazine would never risk it. He pointed out that what is happening is reminiscent of the situation with Charlie Hebdo, when 12 people were killed in the French magazine’s editorial office in 2015 after publishing a cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad.
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