Extremist groups have attacked the LeMan magazine, while a Turkish court issued an arrest warrant for the chief editor and three other people, including the cartoonist. Erdogan calls the cartoon a "clear, vile provocation" and accuses the authors of immorality. Activists and civil society movements condemn the manner of the arrest, comparable to "torture", and the posting of its video.

Istanbul (AsiaNews) – A little more than 10 years since the Muhammad cartoons published by Charlie Hebdo and the subsequent attack by Islamic extremists against the headquarters of the French satirical magazine, which resulted in 12 deaths, the right to satirise has come under attack in Turkey.

For Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has built his political success over the last 20 years by combining “nationalism and Islam,” the cartoon is “a clear, vile provocation launched under the false pretext of humor.”

The controversy, which has already led to the arrest of at least four people and sparked street protests, stems from a recent cartoon published by LeMan magazine to mark the 12-day war between Israel and Iran.

The cartoon depicts the two prophets, Moses and Muhammad, shaking hands in the sky, while missiles fly on the ground in a scene that seems to represent one of the many wars in the recent history of the Middle East.

The cartoon sparked outrage among many Turks, particularly in Istanbul, with groups of protesters gathering in front of the building that houses LeMan’s offices, while some trying to force their way into the premises.

In Islam, visual representations of God and prophets are banned, and both Muhammad and the prophet Moses (who is also revered in Judaism and Christianity) are included in the ban.

On X, the Turkish president condemned the cartoon, adding that security and court officials "immediately took action regarding this hate crime”.

The magazine in question, he continued, has been confiscated. He ends his post by saying that the lack of respect shown by some "immoral" individuals, "devoid of this nation’s values and devoid of decency and manners" towards Muhammad "absolutely unacceptable".

In a speech given to provincial leaders of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), the Turkish president addressed especially young people, urging them not to let anger cloud reason. He reiterated that as long as he is in power, insults to "our sacred values" will not be tolerated.

Turkish police have arrested the four people who worked on the controversial cartoon, following an order from the Istanbul Prosecutor General's Office to detain the owner, the managing editor, the editor-in-chief and the cartoonist.

The court also ordered the seizure of this week’s edition of the magazine and blocked all its social media profiles.

Meanwhile, videos of extremists trying to break down the door to the building that houses the magazine are multiplying online, while in some protesters are heard shouting slogans like “Long live Sharia” and “An eye for an eye, blood for blood, revenge for revenge.”

In an attempt to defuse the controversy, LeMan stated in a note on X that "the work does not refer to the Prophet Muhammad in any way." The cartoonist, Dogan Pehlevan, stressed that the cartoon was about "the suffering of a Muslim man killed in Israeli attacks," adding that there was no intent to insult Islam or its prophet.

The magazine urged the authorities to counter what it called a smear campaign and to protect freedom of expression.

Several civil society groups condemned the detentions as a violation of freedom of thought and expression, noting that press freedom in Turkey is currently very low level; in its latest ranking, Reporters Without Borders puts the country in 158th position out of 180, following a trend of progressive decline.

Various rights groups have also waded into the controversy. The Association for Human Rights (İHD) condemned "both the treatment during the arrest of the person alleged to have drawn the cartoon published in LeMan, and the way in which these images were promoted".

“The individual arrested,” the İHD statement adds, “was subjected to mistreatment, including reverse handcuffing and being dragged on the ground, despite showing no resistance. These images were publicly shared and legitimized by the Interior Ministry.”

The Istanbul branch of the Progressive Lawyers Association (ÇHD) says that the magazine “has been systematically targeted” and those arrested were subjected to “torture”.

The Istanbul Medical Chamber (İTO) also denounced the treatment of detainees. “The manner in which the cartoonist and LeMan staff were taken into custody over a cartoon that drew reactions from part of the public, the Interior Minister’s decision to publicly share footage of the arrest, and efforts to justify the treatment they received are unacceptable,” the group stated.

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