Turkish lawyer filed complaint against Charlie Hebdo
by Anadolu Agency
ERZURUMJan 20, 2015 - 12:00 am GMT+3
by Anadolu Agency
Jan 20, 2015 12:00 am
A Turkish lawyer filed a criminal complaint on Tuesday against Charlie Hebdo and the Turkish daily Cumhuriyet for publishing derogatory depictions of the Prophet Muhammad.
The January 14 edition of the French satirical magazine, and a four-page section published by Cumhuriyet, include derogatory cartoons and representations of the prophet "for commercial purposes," according to the complaint filed by Mustafa Polat with the Prosecutor's Office in the eastern Turkish province of Erzurum.
The cover of Charlie Hebdo's first issue released since the January 7 attack on its offices that killed 12 people features a cartoon shows the Prophet Muhammad in white dress, shedding a tear and holding a "Je suis Charlie (I am Charlie)" sign, below the headline "All is forgiven."
The slogan "Je suis Charlie" spread worldwide to become the rallying cry of those who wished to mourn the victims, condemn the attacks or support the freedom of the press and freedom of expression.
"Both the magazine and the daily include disparaging remarks against Islam and the Prophet Muhammad, in particular, in the article titled "All Is Forgiven, God is Great," Polat said.
These remarks not only go beyond the freedom of expression, but they also incite hatred and animosity, he said.
"In addition, the attack on the magazine constitutes evidence, albeit indirectly, as to the fact that people have been provoked," he added.
Polat claimed the main intent behind these issues was purely monetary, which he said could be seen when the number of sales were compared prior to and following the attack.
Five million more copies of the weekly Charlie Hebdo magazine were printed on the Saturday after the attack, French media reported.
This was in addition to a run of three million copies on January 14 - a huge leap from the magazine's normal circulation of 60,000 copies.
The weekly has sold two million copies of its latest issue so far.
If the new batch is sold out, the magazine will break a record in the country's publishing history - with seven million copies.
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