Criticism of the caricature – The caricature of “Charlie Hebdo” outraged Erdogan – News

• Turkey harshly condemns a front page of the French satirical magazine “Charlie Hebdo” with a caricature of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
• Erdogan’s communications director, Fahrettin Altun, accuses the magazine of “cultural racism”.
• The “so-called caricatures” are “repulsive” and “without human morality”.
• “The anti-Muslim agenda of French President Emmanuel Macron is bearing fruit,” writes Altun.

The caricature on the cover of Wednesday’s edition of “Charlie Hebdo,” published online Tuesday evening, shows Erdogan in a white top and underpants sitting in an armchair. He holds a can in his hand and lifts a veiled woman’s robe to reveal her bare bottom. “Ohh! The Prophet! ”Reads a comic. The page is titled with the words: “Erdogan – in private it’s a lot of fun”.

Ankara’s prosecutor’s office is now launching an investigation to insult the president against “Charlie Hebdo”, the state news agency Anadolu reported.

“The necessary judicial and diplomatic measures will be taken against the aforementioned cartoon,” the Turkish presidency’s communications directorate said in a statement amid growing tensions between Ankara and Paris.

Tensions between Turkey and France

The atmosphere between France and Turkey has been on for days. The tension was triggered by Macron’s comments on freedom of expression and Islam following the death of teacher Samuel Paty, who was reportedly beheaded by an Islamist.

The French head of state had defended freedom of expression and the publication of caricatures several times, most recently during Paty’s memorial ceremony. The teacher had shown caricatures of Muhammad in the classroom as an example of freedom of expression. Devout Muslims in particular reject a graphic representation of the prophet and find it offensive, but it is not explicitly forbidden in the Qur’an.

Pakistan and several Arab governments have criticized Macron’s position. Erdogan had called for a boycott of French goods and personally attacked Macron. Among other things, he recommended the French head of state to undergo a psychological examination.