Four staff members of the LeMan satirical magazine have been formally arrested in connection with an ongoing investigation over a controversial cartoon allegedly depicting Prophet Muhammad.
The four individuals were taken into custody on Jun 30 after the cartoon began circulating on social media, leading to a targeted campaign against the magazine. They initially faced charges of “publicly denigrating religious values” under Article 216/3 of the Turkish Penal Code.
After completing their statements at the police department, the suspects were transferred to the İstanbul Courthouse in Çağlayan earlier today.
The prosecution pursued additional charges against the four journalists—cartoonist Doğan Pehlevan, managing editor Zafer Aknar, graphic designer Cebrail Okçu administrative manager Ali Yavuz—accusing them of “inciting the public to hatred and hostility.” Pehlevan, the cartoonist behind the illustration, also faces charge of “insulting the president.”
The charge of “insulting religious values” carries a prison sentence of up to one year and typically does not lead to pretrial detention. However, the offense of “inciting the public to hatred and hostility” allows for pretrial detention. In recent years, there have been investigations that initially began under the lesser charge of insulting religious values were later reclassified as "incitement to hatred," resulting in the arrest of suspects.
The suspects were formally arrested following their hearing before the criminal judgeship of peace.
The cartoon, featured in the magazine's Jun 26 issue, depicted two elderly figures identified as Muhammad and Moses flying over war-torn cities with missiles raining down, apparently alluding to the wars in Palestine, Israel, and Iran. In the cartoon, the two exchange greetings, with the Muslim one saying “Salamun Alaykum, I am Muhammad” and the Jewish one saying “Aleichem Shalom, I am Moses.”
In a statement responding to the backlash, the magazine clarified that the cartoon did not depict prophets but rather two individuals named Muhammad and Moses. It emphasized that the cartoon was anti-war in nature. (TY/VK)
