Turkish authorities on Monday detained three cartoonists over a satirical drawing published by the weekly magazine Leman that seemed to depict holy figures.

The cartoon drew strong condemnation from government officials and religious quarters.

Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya shared a video on X showing police officers detaining cartoonist Dogan Pehlevan and dragging him up the stairs of a building with his hands cuffed behind his back.

“The individual who drew this vile image, D.P., has been apprehended and taken into custody. These shameless people will be held accountable before the law.”

Yerlikaya later posted two other videos, showing two other men being laid on the ground and forcibly taken from their homes, as policemen dragged them into vans – one of them walking barefoot.

Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said an investigation had been launched under Article 216 of the Turkish Penal Code, which criminalises incitement to hatred and enmity, and that detention orders had been issued for six people in total.

In its statement on X, the Leman magazine apologised to readers who felt offended and said the cartoon had been misunderstood.

It said Pehlevan had sought to highlight “the suffering of a Muslim man killed in Israeli attacks”, and that there was no intent to insult Islam or its prophet.

Leman also urged judicial authorities to act against what it called a smear campaign, and asked security forces to protect freedom of expression.

Earlier in the evening, video footage on social media showed a group of protesters marching to Leman’s office building in central Istanbul, chanting slogans and kicking its entrance doors.