MOSCOW—The Kremlin-backed leader of Chechnya led a protest by hundreds of thousands of people against the publication of a cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad in Charlie Hebdo’s first edition since Islamist gunmen killed 12 people at the satirical magazine’s office.

“We see today that Europe didn’t make appropriate conclusions from the event,” Kadyrov told the meeting, adding that the killings in Paris could have been organized by “the authorities and security services of Western countries.”

The Jan. 7 massacre at Charlie Hebdo’s office in Paris by men the police say were radical Islamists has touched off debate about the balance between freedom of speech and religious tolerance. The weekly publication’s new cover has been the target of protests in predominantly Muslim nations including Pakistan and Sudan, led to riots in Niger that left 10 people dead, and was even criticized indirectly by Pope Francis.

“I consider my personal enemies all those who support the ‘right’ of Charlie Hebdo and other publications to insult the religious feelings of 1.5 billion Muslims,” Kadyrov said in an Instagram post account on Jan. 17.

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