Cartoonist Doğan Pehlevan, who has been detained for about 5 months over a cartoon published in the weekly cartoon and humour magazine LeMan, was released in the first hearing under a judicial control measure in the form of a travel ban. Pehlevan will remain in prison because he is also detained on the charge of “insulting the president” in another case.
In the investigation launched by the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office on the grounds that in a cartoon published in LeMan’s issue dated 26 June the figures of Hz. Muhammed and Hz. Musa were caricatured and that the drawing constituted the offence of “inciting the public to hatred and hostility and degrading”, the cartoonist Doğan Pehlevan, institution director Ali Yavuz, responsible managing editor Zafer Aknar, graphic designer Cebrail Okçu and managing editor Aslan Özdemir had been detained.
Later an indictment was issued on the charge of “publicly inciting the public to hatred and hostility” for Zafer Aknar, Ali Yavuz, Cebrail Okçu and Aslan Özdemir and for Mehmet Tuncay Akgün, the editor-in-chief who had an arrest warrant, and on the charge of “publicly inciting the public to hatred and hostility in a chain” for Doğan Pehlevan. The indictment requested prison sentences ranging from 1 year 6 months to 4 years 6 months for those concerned.
FOUR HAD BEEN RELEASED
The indictment also stated that the charge of “publicly inciting the public to hatred and hostility in a chain” against Doğan Pehlevan was based on a post allegedly shared on his X account. It also noted that the investigation concerning the “insulting the president” charge against Pehlevan had been separated. The court had ordered the release of the four defendants except the cartoonist Pehlevan before the first hearing.
Today the first hearing of the case was held. The hearing began at 10:20 with identity checks. The defendants and their lawyers were present in the courtroom. Doğan Pehlevan joined the hearing via SEGBİS from the prison where he is detained.
“I HAVE BEEN HELD IN A WELL-TYPE PRISON FOR ABOUT 5 MONTHS”
Pehlevan’s defence was heard first. In his defence he said: “As stated in the indictment, I had no intention of inciting anyone. On the contrary, I am someone who respects this society’s shared morals and values. I also raise my 10-year-old son according to these values. The fact that things have reached this point has deeply upset me and those around me.
I have been held in a well-type prison for about 5 months. I am the only detainee in the file. I am not a flight risk; my address has been the same for many years. We have been in a victimised state for about 5 months.
“THE INDICTMENT ALSO INCLUDES A TWEET BUT I HAVE NEVER HAD AN X ACCOUNT”
The indictment includes a tweet attributed to me but I have never had an X account. This has also surprised me. If I had an account I would have explained the truth there when all this happened.
“ANYONE WHO KNOWS HOW TO READ A CARTOON WOULD NEVER SEE TWO PROPHETS THERE”
It is alleged that prophets were drawn in the cartoon but anyone who knows how to read a cartoon would never see two prophets there. If there were an expert they would clearly state that two prophets are not depicted. If my son were asked to draw a ‘house’ for homework but he drew a ‘tree’ the teacher would not accept it. A similar situation applies to my cartoon.
“THIS CARTOON IS A REAL CALL FOR PEACE”
The Musa figure in the cartoon represents a Jewish person of the Mosaic faith; he is not a prophet. The other figure cannot be said to represent Hz. Muhammed. As someone who grew up in these lands I know very well that our Prophet cannot be drawn. I am not French. The other figure is any Arab-origin person you might see on Istiklal Avenue. If asked why these characters are named Musa and Muhammed perhaps I made a mistake there but at that moment my thought was that the most common name representing a Muslim is ‘Muhammed’ and the name representing a Jew is ‘Musa’.
The speech bubbles in the cartoon contain nothing provocative. The Jewish greeting is similar to ours. A programme on Diyanet TV about greetings also emphasised the unifying nature of the greeting in Islam. The two people in the cartoon greet each other with words of peace before God by pointing to the pointlessness of war because war continues on earth. This cartoon is a real call for peace.
People who die in cartoons are drawn with wings on their backs. My cartoon was drawn in line with this tradition. My intention is in no way to mock the moral and religious values of society; on the contrary I respect these values and see protecting them as a duty. I am very upset that things have come to this point.”
In his defence Aslan Özdemir said, “Works of art are not made jointly. Although I was abroad I came and surrendered myself. I reject the claim by the prosecutor’s office that I was caught at the airport. My seat number was even given to the relevant people. I was held for 3 months in a well-type prison. I experienced things that are impossible to remedy both materially and morally. I do not accept the charges and request my acquittal.”
“I WAS RELEASED ON TUESDAY AND WENT TO THE MOSQUE ON FRIDAY”
Cebrail Okçu said, “I was released on Tuesday and went to the mosque the next Friday. I did not receive a single reaction there. The people at the mosque and those around me know that I would not take part in such an offence. On the contrary there was an atmosphere of celebration. I have no authority to check any content. My job there is only to prepare the pages. I am someone who attends Friday prayers, carries out the ritual slaughter and grew up in a conservative family. I request my acquittal.”
Ali Yavuz said, “I handle the magazine’s financial affairs. I have nothing to say,” while Zafer Aknar said, “I learnt about the incident on social media. I was abroad when the magazine was being prepared. I have nothing to say because I have no connection with the incident. I retired a long time ago but my name remained for some of my rights to be protected. I have not been to the magazine for two years. I saw the cartoon for the first time at the police station.”
THE PROSECUTOR REQUESTED THE CONTINUATION OF DETENTION, THE JUDGE ORDERED RELEASE
The prosecutor requested that Pehlavan’s detention continue and that the judicial control measures for the other defendants remain in place. All defendants and their lawyers made their final statements against the opinion.
After the break the judge ordered Pehlevan to be released under a judicial control measure in the form of a travel ban. However, because Pehlevan is also detained on the charge of “insulting the president” in another case he will not be released. Judicial control measures for the other four defendants were lifted. The hearing was adjourned to a later date.
Note: This article is translated from the original article titled Tutukluluğu sürecek: LeMan Dergisi karikatüristi Doğan Pehlevan hakkında tahliye kararı, published in BirGün newspaper on November 14, 2025.
