Press freedom organizations IPI and MFRR condemned the state-sponsored attack on LeMan magazine, whose four staff members were arrested over a cartoon depicting the Prophet Muhammad. “This case is emblematic of the decline in press freedom in Turkey,” the organizations said in a joint statement. The statement demanded the release of LeMan staff, the dropping of charges related to the cartoon and an end to judicial, economic and physical pressure on the magazine.
Published on June 26, the cartoon depicted figures greeting each other with ‘Salaam Alaikum’ and ‘Alaikhem Salom’ over a bombed city in the Middle East. Four days later, the drawing was shared on social media and a campaign was launched with the hashtag ‘#LemanDergisiKapatılsın’. Top officials including the Interior and Justice Ministers condemned the cartoon, while BTK blocked access to the magazine’s website.
July 8, 2025
Diken