We do not joke with the image of the head of state in Turkey.

A prosecutor called for up to four years' imprisonment on Friday March 26 against four journalists from the French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo whom he accuses of having "insulted" President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a cartoon published in 2020.

According to the Turkish state press agency Anadolu, the four indicted Charlie Hebdo journalists are cartoonist Alice Petit and three managers of the famous weekly, Gérard Biard, Julien Sérignac and Laurent Sourisseau, said Riss.

The publication of this cartoon, in October, had aroused the anger of Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a context of sharp diplomatic tensions between Ankara and Paris.

We saw the authoritarian Turkish president drawn in underwear, beer in hand, lifting the dress of a veiled woman, exclaiming: "Ouuuh! The prophet!".

Erdogan: in the private sector, he is very funny!



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- Charlie Hebdo (@Charlie_Hebdo_) October 27, 2020

In his indictment, which has yet to be formally accepted by a court for a trial to begin, the Turkish prosecutor considers that this cartoon "does not in any way fall within the scope of freedom of expression or the press ", describing the press cartoon as" vulgar, obscene and dishonorable ".

After the publication of this cartoon, Recep Tayyip Erdogan had denounced a "vile attack" committed by "scoundrels".

"Expand censorship"

This affair took place in the context of a diplomatic crisis between Turkey and France, Recep Tayyip Erdogan notably accusing French President Emmanuel Macron of "Islamophobia" for having defended the right to caricature the Prophet Muhammad.

The announcement of the indictment of Charlie Hebdo journalists also comes a few days after Emmanuel Macron accused Turkey of "interference" and in the midst of controversy in France over the financing of a mosque supported by a pro-Turkish association in Strasbourg (east).

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) on Friday denounced the prosecution of Charlie Hebdo journalists, accusing Ankara of wanting to "expand censorship beyond Turkey".

Regularly pinned down by NGOs, Turkey is ranked 154th out of 180 in the press freedom index published by RSF.

Dozens of journalists have been arrested and several opposition media prosecuted or closed in recent years in this country.

With AFP

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