Turkish cartoonist jailed pending trial over drawing accused of insulting Prophet

A Turkish court on Wednesday ordered the arrest of cartoonist Dogan Pehlevan and three others pending trial, after a drawing in their satirical magazine stirred outrage among religious conservatives and condemnation by President Tayyip Erdogan.

Pehlevan faces charges, which he denies, of inciting hatred and insulting the president, according to a court document. Justice Minster Yilmaz Tunc said the four had been arrested.

The cartoon, published shortly after war ended between Israel and Iran, showed two elderly men named Mohammad and Moses shaking hands in the sky while missiles flew below — a scene critics said blasphemously referenced Muslim and Jewish prophets.

On Tuesday, Erdogan called the Leman magazine cartoon a "vile provocation" and vowed that "those who show disrespect to our Prophet and other prophets will be held accountable before the law." His AK Party called it an Islamophobic hate crime.

In a court statement seen by Reuters, Pehlevan denied targeting religious figures, saying the names were commonly used and intended to represent ordinary victims of war. "If I had referred the prophets, I would have used an expression like 'Prophet'," he said.

"The cartoon is a call for peace."

Pehlevan faces charges of "inciting hatred and enmity" and "insulting the president", the court document said. Three other Leman staff members — the managing editor, graphic designer, and administrative director — were also referred to court under similar charges.

Leman has apologised to readers who felt offended and said the cartoon was misunderstood. It said Pehlevan sought to portray the suffering of civilians in wartime and that there was no intent to insult Islam.