A cartoonist working for the satirical Leman magazine was detained by police for questioning on Monday amid controversy over a cartoon depicting the Prophet Muhammad.

In a statement, the chief public prosecutor's office said it "launched an investigation" into a cartoon published by the magazine on June 26 that "openly disparages religious values."

"Arrest warrants have been issued for those involved," the prosecutor's office said. The arrest warrants also include Leman's editors-in-chief and managing editor.

Turkish Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc earlier said cartoons depicting Muhammad were an affront to religious sensitivities and social harmony.

Muhammad cartoon sparks outrage

Images of the cartoon in question, posted on social media, appeared to show Prophet Muhammad and Prophet Moses shaking hands in mid-air while missiles fell onto a city.

"No freedom grants the right to make the sacred values of a belief a subject of humor in an ugly way," Justice Minister Tunc wrote.

Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya confirmed that the cartoonist had been taken into custody, and shared a video showing him being put into handcuffs in a stairwell.

"The person named D.P. who made this vile drawing has been caught and taken into custody," he wrote, using the cartoonist's initials.

"These shameless individuals will be held accountable before the law," he added.

Although Turkey has a secular legal system, having abolished Islamic law in the 1920s, the law does allow for a prison sentence of up to one year for anyone "who openly insults the religious values of a section of the public."

Magazine says cartoon 'does not depict the prophet'

Turkish media reported several dozen protesters gathered outside of Leman's office in Istanbul after the image spread on social media.

However, the magazine issued an apology on social media for any offense caused and said the cartoon had been misunderstood.

The statement said the cartoonist had intended to highlight "the suffering of a Muslim man killed in Israeli attacks," rather than to insult Islam.

"The name Muhammad is among the most widely used in the world by Muslims honoring the Prophet. The cartoon does not depict the Prophet and was not drawn to mock religious values," the magazine said, calling some interpretations "deliberately malicious."

Edited by: Alex Berry