Turkey has arrested journalists for the suggested caricature of the Prophet Mohammed

Four satirical magazine employees in Turkey have been arrested for publication of a cartoon that seems to show the Prophet Mohammed, a sacred religious figure whose depiction is prohibited in Islam.

Turkey’s Interior Minister Ali Jerlikaya condemned the drawing of Leman magazine as “shameless”, announcing that its editor -in -chief, graphic designer, institutional director and cartoonist had been detained.

Lehman denied that his cartoon was Mohammed’s cartoon, he wrote to X that “work does not refer to the Prophet Mohammed in any way.”

Riot police were located in Istanbul on Monday as hundreds of people protested against the publication.

Protesters gathered outside the offices of Lehman, who chanted slogans such as “tooth for tooth, blood for blood, revenge, revenge.”

Agence France-Presse (AFP) correspondent has reported that he sees rubber bullets and tear gas to scatter the crowd.

The Minister of Justice in Turkey said an investigation was launched by the Prosecutor General of the Prosecutor’s Office for “publicly insulting religious values”.

“The cartoon or any form of visual presentation of our prophet not only harms our religious values, but also damages to public peace,” writes Yilmaz Tunc to X.

“Required legal steps will be taken without delay” against Lehman’s journalists, he added.

Yerlikaya also shared videos of the four employees who were arrested for “disgusting drawing”.

Arrest orders have also been issued for other members of the senior management of the magazine.

On social media, images of the cartoon appear, showing two heroes with wings floating in the sky over a city under siege.

One of the characters is depicted, saying “Peace, be on you, I’m a Mohammed” and the other in response “Peace, be on you, I’m musa.” Musa is Turkish for Moses.

Lehman apologized to “well -meaning readers who feel hurt” but defended their work and rejected the allegations that the cartoon was a depiction of Mohammed.

“The cartoonist wanted to present the righteousness of the oppressed Muslim people by depicting a Muslim killed by Israel, and he never intended to offend religious values,” said a statement to X.

“We do not accept the stain that is thrown on us because there is no depiction of our prophet. You must be very malicious to interpret the cartoon this way.”

Editor -in -Chief of Leman Tuncay Akgun, who is currently in Paris, told AFP that the work was interpreted and the magazine “Never Take such a risk”.

He added that the reverse reaction attracts “similarities with Charlie Hebdo”, which is “very intentional and very anxious”, citing the 2015 attack against the French satirical magazine after publishing a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed.

Charlie Hebdo’s services were stormy by artillerymen who killed 12 people and were one of the tallest security crises in France’s history.