Turkish authorities raided the Istanbul offices of the leftist satirical magazine LeMan on June 30 due to the publishing of a cartoon by Doğan Pehlivan, which they claimed pictured Islamic Prophet Muhammad, and arrested four of its staff including the cartoonist. They are yet to be indicted and formally charged as of July.
Pehlivan was arrested along with news editor Zafer Aknar, graphic designer Cebrail Okçu, and institutional manager Ali Yavuz, who were taken into custody at LeMan offices and their residences in Istanbul. A court on July 2 order them detained pending trial on the suspicion of “publicly demeaning religious values.” The arrest of Pehlivan was also based on the suspicion of “insulting the president,” reports said.
Tuncay Akgün, editor-in-chief and publisher, and news editor Aslan Özdemir were also wanted by the authorities but 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.