Police operatives in Turkey have arrested four staff of the satirical magazine Leman over an alleged caricature of the Prophet Mohammed.
The country’s Interior Minister, Ali Yerlikaya announced late Monday on his Twitter account.
Yerlikaya shared footage showing the arrests of the magazine’s graphic designer, illustrator, editor-in-chief, and managing director, calling the cartoon “despicable.”
The videos showed officers restraining the suspects with cable ties and escorting them from the premises.
The Minister of Justice, Yılmaz Tunç, said on X that Leman was under investigation for “publicly denigrating religious values.”
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Leman denied the allegation, stating on X that the cartoon in question did not depict the Prophet Mohammed.
The arrests followed a protest outside the magazine’s Istanbul office in the Beyoğlu district on Monday evening, where demonstrators reportedly chanted “Long live Sharia” and damaged windows and doors.
In response to the unrest, authorities imposed a one-day ban on public gatherings in Beyoğlu on Tuesday.
The Contemporary Lawyers Association (ÇHD) condemned the arrest and describing it as “torture.”
The CHD accused the government of using the incident as a pretext to silence dissent.
