Istanbul’s chief prosecutor on Monday ordered the arrest of the editors at one Turkey’s top satirical magazines for publishing a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed, Turkish media reported.
“The chief public prosecutor’s office has launched an investigation into the publication of a cartoon in the June 26, 2025 issue of Leman magazine that openly disparages religious values, and arrest warrants have been issued for those involved,” the prosectors office said.
A copy of the black-and-white image posted on social media appeared to show the Prophet Mohammed, Islam’s most revered figure, and Moses introducing themselves and shaking hands in the skies over a city under bombardment.
As the news broke, several dozen angry protesters attacked a bar often frequented by Leman staffers in downtown Istanbul, provoking angry scuffles with police trying to stop them, an AFP correspondent at the scene said.
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said police had arrested the cartoonist responsible for the image, posting footage on X of him being arrested in a stairwell.
“The person named D.P. who made this vile drawing has been caught and taken into custody,” he wrote, saying: “These shameless individuals will be held accountable before the law.”
Media reports said the other three targeted by the warrants were Leman’s two editors-in-chief and its managing editor.
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© Agence France-Presse
