Turkish reprint of Charlie Hebdo sparks police raid, competing hashtags

Police raided the printing press of the Turkish daily Cumhuriyet on Wednesday, temporarily halting its distribution. The raid came when authorities learned of the Istanbul-based newspaper’s plans to reprint parts of Charlie Hebdo’s first post-attack edition. Distribution of the paper was allowed to continue once authorities made sure the Charlie Hebdo cover featuring Prophet Muhammad was not included. However, smaller black-and-white images of that cover were used by two of the paper’s columnists, but it remains unclear whether their use was missed by the police inspection.

The raid triggered widespread criticism of Turkish authorities for what many see as a violation of press freedom. Netizens tweeted in solidarity with the publication using #JeSuisCumhuriyet (I am Cumhuriyet). The hashtag has more than 1,700 uses so far: