Skip to main content
turkey - france

Turkish journalists sentenced to jail for publishing Charlie Hebdo Mohammed cartoon

Two Turkish journalists have been handed two-year jail sentences for publishing French magazine Charlie Hebdo's cartoon of Prophet Mohammed. The pair, who work for the anti-government Cumhurriyet daily, are to appeal.

The Je suis Charlie demonstration in Paris on 11 January 2015
The Je suis Charlie demonstration in Paris on 11 January 2015 RFI-Chine/Sophie
Advertising

Hikmet Cetinkaya and Ceyda Karan went on trial in January 2015, accused of "inciting public hatred" and "insulting religious values".

They used the cartoon to illustrate their columns when Cumhurriyet published a four-page pullout of a translation of parts of Charlie Hebdo's first issue following the January 2015 attack on its offices.

Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, who was among the heads of state who attended the Paris march that followed the massacre, described publication of the cartoons as an "open provocation".

There have been a number of legal cases against Turkish media in the last couple of years.

Cumhurriyet's editor-in-chief Can Dundar and its Ankara bureau chief Erdem Gul are currently on trial on charges of revealing state secrets for revealing arms deliveries to Syria and could face several life sentences.

Karan was defiant after sentencing.

"Let our two-year sentence be a gift for our liberal fascists #JeSuisCharlie," she tweeted.

Daily newsletterReceive essential international news every morning

Keep up to date with international news by downloading the RFI app

Share :
Page not found

The content you requested does not exist or is not available anymore.