Overview

• The cartoonist Dogan Pehlevan and three other Leman collaborators have been detained on charges of denigrating religious values after a June 26 illustration was deemed offensive.
• Two additional staff members, including editor-in-chief Tuncay Akgun, remain at large under arrest warrants issued by the Istanbul prosecutor.
• Police have employed rubber bullets, tear gas and security cordons to disperse hundreds of Islamist demonstrators who targeted Leman-affiliated cafés and bars.
• Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya branded the cartoon an "ignoble provocation" and Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc labeled it a hate crime, both vowing that those responsible will face trial.
• Press freedom advocates warn the arrests exemplify an escalating crackdown on secular and opposition media under President Erdoğan, eroding Turkey’s laïcité tradition.