Turkish authorities raided the Istanbul offices of the leftist satirical magazine LeMan on June 30 following the publishing of a cartoon by Doğan Pehlivan which allegedly pictured Islamic Prophet Muhammad. Authorities arrested four LeMan staffers, including the cartoonist and Cebrail Okçu, a graphic designer, and they have yet to be indicted and formally charged as of July 2025
LeMan news editor Zafer Aknat and institutional manager Ali Yavuz were also taken into custody on June 30. All four were ordered detained by an Istanbul court on July 2 pending trial on the suspicion of “publicly demeaning religious values.” The arrest of cartoonist Pehlivan was also based on the suspicion of “insulting the president,” reports said.
The cartoon depicted two men with wings on their backs meeting over the skies of a city being bombed. They greet each other by saying “Assalamu alaikum, I’m Muhammad,” and “Aleichem shalom, I’m Moses,” as they shake hands. LeMan said on X that the man in the cartoon is not the prophet but instead a Muslim man named Muhammad.
Tuncay Akgün, the editor-in-chief and publisher, and news editor Aslan Özdemir were also wanted by the authorities but could not be located because both men were abroad at the time. Akgün said: “The cartoon has nothing to do with Prophet Muhammad. We would never take such a risk.” Özdemir returned to Turkey under his own will and was arrested by a court on July 11.
The LeMan staff were indicted in early September and all six defendants, including Aygün, were charged with “provoking the people into hatred and animosity” which may lead to a prison sentence of up to four years and six months for each if found guilty. A court is yet to accept the indictment for the trial date to be set. There is a warrant for Aygün’s arrest.
CPJ’s emailed request for comment from the chief prosecutor’s office in Istanbul did not receive a reply.