State media also reported that Turkish prosecutors had launched an investigation into Charlie Hebdo executives.
Turkey said Wednesday that it will take legal and diplomatic measures in response to a cartoon of President Tayyip Erdogan in the French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo, which officials called a “disgusting effort” to “spread his racism and cultural hatred.”
Turkish anger over the cartoon added fuel to the dispute between Turkey and France over cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, which erupted after a teacher who had shown students the cartoons in a free speech lesson was beheaded in France this month. .
The cartoon on the cover of Charlie Hebdo showed Mr. Erdogan sitting in a white T-shirt and boxer shorts, holding a canned drink along with a woman wearing an Islamic hijab.
“Our people should have no doubt that all necessary diplomatic and legal measures will be taken against the cartoon in question,” said Turkey’s Communications Directorate.
“Our battle against these rude, malicious and insulting steps will continue to the end with reason but determination,” he said in a statement.
Also read: boycott of France pushes Turkey ‘even further’ from the EU
Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gul told reporters in Ankara that the Turkish authorities had taken all necessary initiatives with the relevant authorities. State media also reported that Turkish prosecutors had launched an investigation into Charlie Hebdo executives.
Senior Turkish officials had condemned the cartoon, and presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said it did not respect “any beliefs, sanctities and values” and displayed “its own vulgarity and immorality.” He said that the cartoon could not be considered freedom of expression.
Turkey’s presidential communications director Fahrettin Altun said: “Macrons anti-Muslim agenda is paying off!”
“We condemn this publication’s most disgusting effort to spread its racism and cultural hatred,” Altun wrote on Twitter.
Erdogan harshly criticized Macron over the weekend, saying the French leader needed a mental health check, prompting France to withdraw its ambassador from Ankara. On Monday, Erdogan called for a boycott of French products.
Cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, considered blasphemous by Muslims, have been exhibited in France in solidarity and Macron has said he will redouble efforts to stop conservative Islamic beliefs that subvert French values, angering many Muslims.
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