Two Turkish journalists face jail terms for Charlie Hebdo cover

A Turkish prosecutor is seeking prison terms for two journalists who republished the cover of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo featuring an image of the Prophet Mohammed, their newspaper said.

Ceyda Karan and Hikmet Cetinkaya, columnists at Cumhuriyet daily, both face jail terms of 4-1/2 years for allegedly “insulting people’s religious values” for reprinting the caricature of Islam’s prophet following the Jan. 7 attacks on Charlie Hebdo in Paris that killed 12 people, Cumhuriyet said on its website, citing a copy of the indictment.

“We are being threatened with prison for defending free speech,” Karan told media.”To threaten a journalist because he or she printed a drawing that does not include an insult can only come from a religious, authoritarian government. “Neither of us will abandon our defence of free speech,” she added.She has had bodyguard protection since January.