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Zunar in court: hearing proceeds

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Malaysian cartoonist and CRNI Courage in Editorial Cartooning Award winner Zunar reports that he’ll be in court next week to contest his ongoing travel ban.

The hearing follows the recusal of a judge in February.  Despite the multiple restrictions placed upon him Zunar continues to draw and distribute cartoons focusing on Prime Minister Najib Razak and wife Rosmah Mansor and the excesses of their government. Readers of this blog will know that Zunar’s cartoons have drawn the ire of various figures of authority, from cabinet minsters to the inspector general of police, as well as ruling party loyalists.

A fellow cartoonist in Malaysia criticised Zunar at an event earlier this week, saying his focus is too narrow.  CRNI’s friend and colleague Prof. Dr Muliyadi Mahamood was there to provide context for Zunar’s choice of subject matter.

Zunar has published his own riposte, saying:

“This is what cartoonists around the world do – exposing corruptions and injustices. I do not create trouble, I am just performing my duty. The authorities are the ones who cause trouble because they cannot laugh at themselves when the read my cartoons. That said, that is their problem, for I do not change my style in any way to accommodate them. In a country where the freedom of expression is limited and the muzzling of mainstream medias is at large, cartoons can be a tool to tell the truth because it is one of the most powerful media to break the hegemony.”

UPDATE: Kuala Lumpur High Court has fixed 14 April as the date for a decision on Judicial Review of Zunar’s leave application, this being the first step before the main challenge can be proceed.

 To Report a Cartoonist in Danger  Email Cartoonists Rights Network International

Interview: Nik Kowsar On Iranian Court Sentence

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In a video interview CRNI Executive Director Dr Robert Russell talks with Iranian cartoonist Nik Kowsar about the guilty verdict recently issued to him in absentia.

Kowsar is a member of our board of directors and a past recipient of our Courage in Editorial Cartooning Award. He talks about his reaction to the proclamation of the Islamic Revolutionary Court, how it relates to the strife that forced him to leave his home several years ago and the way his experiences have been brought to bear in his subsequent work with our organization, supporting cartoonists who find themselves in similarly dire straits.

Dr Russell reminds viewers that CRNI depends upon reporting of threat to cartoonists via our international network as well as those who follow cartoonists’ work. Use the links below to assist in that effort.

 To Report a Cartoonist in Danger  Email Cartoonists Rights Network International

Iranian Refugee Cartoonist Testifies From Turkey

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A former cartoonist forced to flee Iran has written to CRNI detailing his circumstances as a refugee in Turkey.

“Meisam” formerly worked as a cartoonist for conservative Iranian publications.

 

Meisam’s work as it appeared in the Iranian press prior to his flight.

He drew a cartoon on US-Iran relations during the P5+1 negotiations in 2014/15 that was deemed unacceptable by his peers. Meisam claims he was then harassed, threatened with death and finally beaten by men loyal to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps who took umbrage at his “independent minded” cartoons. A CRNI contact in Iran can verify that an assault did indeed take place. Thereafter he fled the country.

He has successfully escaped his persecutors but the situation for refugees in Turkey is far from easy. Meisam hasn’t been able to continue in cartooning professionally and makes ends meet through piecemeal work in the black labor market, all while enduring the rising hostility toward outsiders under an increasingly authoritarian government which itself has a poor record with regard to freedom of speech. What little opportunities he has to draw are done with limited materials and shared via short periods of time in internet cafes.

This sequence of cartoons offers a visual narrative of his experiences. CRNI will lend support as Meisam tries to find a permanent solution to his troubles.

 To Report a Cartoonist in Danger  Email Cartoonists Rights Network International

Rebel Pepper at Risk of Repatriation

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Exiled Chinese cartoonist Wang Liming, aka Rebel Pepper faces possible repatriation and the risk of imprisonment or worse.

In a distressing Google+ post last week the cartoonist detailed problems with the renewal of his Japanese visa and alleged possible involvement of CPC agents.  He fears that given his recently published work and continuing criticism of Xi Jingping’s government, any subsequent action to deport him could lead to his detention by Chinese authorities.

(The CPC has form in this regard. Long-time readers of the CRNI blog will recall that Chinese agents seized dissident cartoonist Jiang Hefei in suspicious circumstances in December 2015, while he was being held by Thai authorities.)

We are in direct contact with Wang and will provide an update on his status in due course.

 To Report a Cartoonist in Danger  Email Cartoonists Rights Network International

UK Parliament debates freedom of speech in Turkey

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Freedom of expression in Recep Erdoğan’s Turkey has been raised in the UK’s Parliamentary proceedings for the second time this year.


Cartoon by KAP

As reported by English PEN, MPs debated the state of affairs in Turkey on Thursday afternoon in Westminster Hall and specifically the impact on human rights of measures taken since last summer’s attempted coup.

The debate, called for by Joan Ryan MP, followed on from Stewart McDonald MP’s Early Day Motion noting the deterioration of press freedom within the country.

Shadow Minister of State for Europe, Fabian Hamilton MP said that the level of interest from both parliamentarians and members of the public indicated that a full debate in the House of Commons was warranted.

UPDATE: a transcript of the debate is now available via Hansard.

Readers of this site will now that CRNI’s particular concern is focused upon the wellbeing and liberty of cartoonist Musa Kart and his colleagues from Cumhuriyet newspaper who face their 130th day in prison on remand without trial.

The paper reports today that a formal application has been made to the European Court of Human Rights in an attempt to secure their release.

“The investigation is political, not legal. Ruling circles, uncomfortable with what Cumhuriyet publishes, want to stop it from appearing.”

 To Report a Cartoonist in Danger  Email Cartoonists Rights Network International

Bulgaria: Prass-Press magazine curtailed

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Attempts to launch a new satirical paper in the style of Charlie Hebdo have been stymied according to cartoonists in Bulgaria.

The Balkan Investigative Reporting Network has the story, detailing an unexplained failure in delivery of some 90% of the Prass-Press‘ ten thousand copies to newsstands around the country.

The new title was launched on March 1st but readers are finding it impossible to buy a copy via the usual outlets.  In response, a voluntary effort is being organised to sell the paper directly at street level .

Two of the cartoonists involved are duo Alla and Chavdar Georgievi.  On their Facebook page (post above) they describe attempts to publicise and distribute Prass-Press in Sofia yesterday as the “most dramatic moments in our lives.”

Bulgarians go to the polls in a parliamentary election at the end of the month.  Co-publisher of Prass-Press, journalist Ivan Bakalov has been quoted as saying that a businessman running for re-election as an MP, Delyan Peevski, may be responsible for the apparent seizure of the paper: “[he] controls the sales; the distribution companies are his.”

 To Report a Cartoonist in Danger  Email Cartoonists Rights Network International

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