Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has described the publication of cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad as a "grave provocation."
"Freedom of the press does not mean freedom to insult," Davutoglu told reporters in Ankara on January 15. "We cannot allow insults to the Prophet.”
The comments come after Islamist gunmen killed 12 people, including top editors and cartoonists, in an attack on French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo on January 7, beginning three days of terror in Paris that left 17 victims dead.
Turkish opposition daily Cumhuriyet was reportedly the sole print publication in a majority Muslim country to reproduce cartoons and articles from Charlie Hebdo’s latest edition. But it stopped short of publishing the cover, which featured a cartoon depicting Muhammad.
Meanwhile, the Afghan Taliban lauded the Charlie Hebdo attack, calling the publication of cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad an “obscene act.”
