LeMan indictment accepted

As part of an investigation launched by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office on the grounds that Prophet Muhammad and Prophet Moses were caricatured in a cartoon in the June 26 issue of LeMan magazine, and that this drawing constituted the crime of "inciting the public to hatred and hostility and insulting them," the cartoon's illustrator Doğan Pehlevan, institution manager Ali Yavuz, editor-in-chief Zafer Aknar, graphic designer Cebrail Okçu, and editorial manager Aslan Özdemir had been arrested.

The investigation into the magazine has been completed, and an indictment was prepared against LeMan magazine's Zafer Aknar, Ali Yavuz, Cebrail Okçu, Aslan Özdemir, and Editor-in-Chief Mehmet Tuncay Akgün, who has an outstanding arrest warrant, for "publicly inciting the public to hatred and hostility," and against Doğan Pehlevan for "publicly inciting the public to hatred and hostility" in a chain manner. The indictment requested prison sentences ranging from 1 year and 6 months to 4 years and 6 months for the individuals in question.

Furthermore, the indictment included information that the charge of "publicly inciting the public to hatred and hostility" in a chain manner against Doğan Pehlevan was attributed to him due to a post he made on his X account. A decision was also made to separate the investigation into the charge of "insulting the President" against Pehlevan.

The prosecution requested release, but the court cited "strong concrete evidence, contradictory statements, and flight risk."

In the Istanbul 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance, which accepted the indictment, the prosecution submitted an opinion for the release of all 5 defendants. The prosecution's opinion included the following statements:

''Due to the lower and upper limits of the prison sentence foreseen for the crime attributed to the defendants under Articles 216/1 and 218 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK), the fact that the evidence has been largely collected, and the absence of any concrete suspicion based on facts that the defendants will flee or tamper with evidence;

It is requested and opined on behalf of the public that the defendants be released individually by applying judicial control measures deemed appropriate by your court.''

The Istanbul 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance, which accepted the indictment, decided to continue the detention of the defendants, citing the "existence of strong concrete evidence, contradictory statements, flight risk, and the presence of a defendant with an arrest warrant." The first hearing will be held on November 14 at 10:00.

News Source: 12punto