ANKARA, Turkey — On Monday, Turkish authorities apprehended a cartoonist for creating a caricature that portrays the Prophet Muhammad, which led to unrest outside the satirical magazine’s Istanbul office. Reports from officials confirm the detention.
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced on a social media platform that a cartoonist from Leman magazine was taken into custody for interrogation. A shared video showed the cartoonist, referred to only by the initials DP, being apprehended with hands cuffed behind their back as they descended a stairwell.
Earlier, the justice minister of Turkey stated that an investigation has been initiated against the magazine. The probe is in response to the potential accusation of “publicly insulting religious values.”
Following the publication of a cartoon depicting Prophets Muhammad and Moses exchanging greetings amidst raining missiles, a group of young men, reportedly from an Islamist faction, expressed their outrage by throwing stones at the magazine’s headquarters.
Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc condemned the cartoon, arguing that such depictions offend religious sentiments and disrupt social cohesion.
“No form of freedom permits the mockery of sacred beliefs in a disrespectful manner,” he asserted.
This incident draws parallels to the tragic events of 2015 at Charlie Hebdo in Paris, where two armed men attacked the office of the French satirical magazine, known for its controversial portrayals, including those of the Prophet Muhammad. That attack resulted in the deaths of 12 individuals, among them notable cartoonists.