The publication of the new cover of the Charlie Hebdo has prompted Turkey to ban websites from showing the caricature of Prophet Muhammad, while a local pro-secular newspaper, which featured a few of the cartoons, is receiving death threats.
A CNN report citing Turkish news agency Anadolu, noted that after the local court issued a ban on Charlie Hebdo 'survivor' series, the police raided the offices of Cumhuriyet and blocked off traffic around it after the paper published excerpts from the Charlie Hebdo issue.
Police, reportedly in armoured vehicles, blocked the entrance of the office and stopped distribution trucks from leaving the printing press in Istanbul.
Later, the prosecutor's office reportedly lifted the ban after finding that the cartoon was not on the front page.
Cumhuriyet carried a translated four-page sample of Charlie Hebdo's latest edition in its edition sans the cover on the Prophet. However, two columnists included small images of the cover within their columns, but this was all missed out by the police.
The editor-in-chief Utku Cakirozer explained on Twitter that Cumhuriyet "has lost writers to terror attacks" and "understands the Charlie Hebdo massacre very well."
The ban on all websites was issued after a statement from the Deputy Prime Minister Yalcin Akdogan who said "Those who are publishing figures referring to our supreme Prophet are those who disregard the sacred." Such a move is "open incitement and provocation," he added.
The Muslim countries have reacted with outrage and anger to Charlie Hebdo's 'survivors' series. The French satirical weekly's new cover contains a caricature of the prophet holding a sign saying "Je suis Charlie." The caption says, "All is forgiven", in French.
The weekly has published its edition exactly a week after two Islamist radicals gunned down 12 people in its office.
