Ceyda Karan.
Cumhuriyet columnist

Prison sentences for columnists who republished Charlie Hebdocartoons
Istanbul's Second Criminal Court today sentenced Ceyda Karan and Hikmet Çetinkaya, columnists for the daily newspaper Cumhuriyet, to two years in prison each on charges of "insulting people's religious values," Cumhuriyet and and the privately owned daily newspaper Hürriyet reported. Both are free, pending appeal.

The columnists had republished cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed by the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo with their columns after the January 2015 attacks on the weekly's offices in Paris.

Speaking after the verdict, Çetinkaya said the two would appeal the verdict to the Supreme Court, calling it a violation of their right to free expression.

Turkish columnists face charge of insulting Islam

The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office launched an investigation Thursday into two columnists from the Turkish daily Cumhuriyet for charges of insulting hatred and public enmity, and insulting “religious values.”

French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo released its first issue on Wednesday since the brutal attack on its offices that killed 12 people last week, with a new cartoon showing the Prophet Muhammad on the cover.

The cartoons were also published in six languages by daily newspapers across the world, including Turkish daily Cumhuriyet.

The Prophet Muhammad, in white dress, can be seen shedding a tear and holding a “Je suis Charlie” sign, below the headline "All is forgiven."

The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor and many others have filed criminal complaints against the two daily Cumhuriyet columnists Ceyda Karan and Hikmet Cetinkaya for using the ‘insulting’ cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad.

Karan and Cetinkaya now face charges of inciting hatred and public enmity, and insulting “religious values.”

Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu lashed out at the Turkish paper for publishing the first post-attack Charlie Hebdo issue which contains a caricature of the Prophet Muhammad.

Davutoglu claimed that freedom of the press does not mean the freedom to insult, especially if it is towards a prophet.

"It cannot be called freedom of press if it is an insult against a prophet, a religious leader that is believed in by around 1.5 billion people around the world," he said.

Apart from Cumhuriyet, three Turkish satirical magazines also published a special front cover to show their solidarity with Charlie Hebdo. Source