The Turkish authorities arrested three cartoonists from the satirical magazine Leman on Monday. They had published a drawing that allegedly depicted the Prophet Muhammad. Clashes occurred between the police and demonstrators at the magazine’s office.
Images shared on X by the Minister of the Interior, Ali Yerlikaya, show one of the cartoonists being dragged up a staircase with his hands cuffed behind his back. He also shared images of the arrest of the other two.
“I curse those who try to sow division by drawing caricatures of our Prophet Muhammad,” writes Yerlikaya. “These shameless people will have to answer to the law.”
In the drawing, the prophets Moses and Muhammad appear to be shaking hands in the air, while bombs fall on a city below them. Many readers see the cartoon as a contrast between religious harmony and violent reality.
Leman has issued an apology to readers in a statement. The magazine states that the cartoon is being misinterpreted. The drawing is not supposed to depict the Prophet Muhammad, but a man who has become a victim of an Israeli attack on Gaza. Leman speaks of a smear campaign and calls for the protection of freedom of expression.
Hundreds of people gather at magazine office
The publication led to unrest in Istanbul on Monday evening. Several hundred people who were angry about the cartoon gathered at the office of Leman. There, they kicked against the doors, among other things. According to news agency AFP, police intervened with rubber bullets and tear gas.
Controversial cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad have previously appeared in countries such as France and Denmark. In France, this led to an attack on the office of the magazine Charlie Hebdo in 2015, in which eleven employees were killed.