Turkish prosecutors probe newspaper for publishing Charlie Hebdo excerpts

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Prosecutors in Istanbul have opened an investigation into Turkish newspaper Cumhuriyet for publishing excerpts from French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo, the newspaper said on its website on Thursday. Cumhuriyet, a secular opposition newspaper, printed parts of Charlie Hebdo in an insert on Wednesday, one of five international editions of the satirical newspaper. The Turkish newspaper's editor-in-chief was not immediately available for comment. Muslim clerics in the Middle East have denounced last week's attack on Charlie Hebdo but criticized the weekly for publishing new cartoons depicting Islam's Prophet Mohammad in its first issue after the killings. Cumhuriyet dedicated four of its pages to Charlie Hebdo articles and cartoons on Wednesday. It printed small, black-and-white versions of the cover - a cartoon of a tearful Mohammad - in two of its columns, but did not use the image in the special section itself. Insulting religious values is punishable with a prison term under a clause in the Turkish penal code. CNN Turk said the Istanbul prosecutors were investigating accusations that Cumhuriyet had incited hatred with its publication. (Reporting by Jonny Hogg and Ece Toksabay; Writing by Nick Tattersall, Editing by Toby Chopra and Angus MacSwan)