A Turkish cartoonist will be put on trial for a caricature he drew in which he renounced god, daily Habertürk reported on its website Wednesday.| I guess the Turks have given up on joining the EU... |
Baruter's caricature depicted an imam and believers praying in a mosque. One of the characters is talking to God on his cellphone and asking to be pardoned from the last part of the prayer because he has errands to run.
Within the wall decorations of the mosque, Baruter hid the words, "There is no Allah, religion is a lie." The cartoon was published in the weekly "Penguen" humor magazine.
Turkish Religious Affairs and Foundation Members' Union and some citizens filed complaints against Baruter.
The public prosecutor's office accepted the complaints and filed a lawsuit against the cartoonist.
One might also mention that the abolition of free speech rights in Western nations as guaranteed e.g. by the 1st Amendment is an official diplomatic demand of the OIC member state Turkey .