The Patriarch of the Georgian Orthodox Church, Ilia II, condemned on February 10 cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammad which were printed in a number of European newspapers.

“The Georgian Orthodox Church condemns such actions… Nobody has the right to insult another religion. In this case, they insulted Islam and the religious feelings of the Muslim population,” the Georgian Patriarch said on February 10.
 
About 1000 local residents rallied on February 8 in Marneuli, a town in the Kvemo Kartli region with a predominantly ethnic Azerbaijani population, to protest cartoons satirizing the Prophet Muhammad.

The cartoons themselves have not been reprinted in any of the Georgian newspapers. On February 3 the daily 24 Saati (24 Hours) published a photo of the French newspaper France Soir’s newsroom. An issue of France Soir, which printed the cartoon, was also seen in the photo.