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Cartoonists under threat on whose behalf CRNI is taking action.

What Is Akram Raslan’s Status?

October 20, 2013

Syrian cartoonist Akram Raslan

Since our most recent posting there have been reports that Akram Raslan is alive, others claiming otherwise. While we hope it is the former, his current status remains unclear. CRNI is working every day with a number of sources to verify that he is alive and relatively well.
Akram Raslan was CRNI’s 2013 winner of the Award for Courage in Editorial Cartooning. Past award winners have hailed from Malaysia, South Africa, Turkey, Palestine, Iran, and India, including last year’s winner, Ali Ferzat, also from Syria. [full story]

Singapore Police Investigating Leslie Chew

September 25, 2013

Leslie Chew (self-portrait)

Leslie Chew is one of the best known Singaporean cartoonists, with over 27,400 Facebook followers of his controversial “Demon-cratic Singapore” cartoon strip.
According to an August 6 article in the Wall Street Journal, Mr. Chew has been under police investigation since April for potential wrongdoing in several cartoons he drew for his Facebook comic strip, which he describes as a “totally fictional comic.” Police arrested Mr. Chew on April 19 and questioned him over alleged sedition after a citizen filed a police complaint against the cartoonist for certain comic strips that the person said were racially insensitive. These were not … [full story]

Trial Delayed for Akram Raslan

June 13, 2013

Syrian cartoonist Akram Raslan

Further to our continuing stories about missing Syrian cartoonist Akram Raslan, it was reported by a reliable source that Mr. Raslan’s trial for sedition due to begin on June 3, 2013 has been indefinitely postponed.

Cartoonists Rights Network International will continue to monitor Mr. Raslan’s situation closely, and once again calls on the Syrian government to drop all charges against Mr. Raslan, and release him immediately to his family.

Is Prageeth Alive?

June 12, 2013

Sri Lankan cartoonist Prageeth Eknaligoda

On June 5th the English language Sri Lanka Mirror, published in Colombo, Sri Lanka, reported that a member of Parliament, Arundhika Fernando, claimed to have met with missing journalist and cartoonist Prageeth Eknaligoda on a recent trip to France.
Prageeth, an employee of the Lanka-e-News website, disappeared in Colombo on his way home from work two days before the 2010 presidential elections, on the night of January 24th, 2010. He had been a vocal and public critic of the human rights abuses of the government of Pres. Mahinda Rajapaksa. Since his disappearance, his wife Sandya Eknaligoda has kept … [full story]

update: Aseem Trivedi

March 20, 2013

Aseem Trivedi

Assem Trivedi was chosen as the co-recipient of our 2012 CIEC award for two courageous actions. First, in an atmosphere of increasing censorship and repression in the world’s largest democracy, Mr. Trivedi launched Cartoons Against Corruption to mobilize his fellow citizens against India’s pervasive political corruption.
Then, after being charged with treason and insulting national symbols, Aseem took his second courageous action. Despite the charges and threats of additional charges, he assumed a leadership role in India’s emerging free speech movement. Joining forces with other free speech activists, Aseem launched an online freedom of expression campaign called Save Your Voice: A Movement Against Web Censorship.

2011 Zulkiflee Ulhaque, aka “Zunar” (Malaysia)

June 15, 2012

Zulkiflee Ulhaque, aka “Zunar”

CRNI’s 2011 Award for Courage in Editorial Cartooning was given to Malaysian cartoonist Zulkiflee Ulhaque, better known as “Zunar”.
Zunar endured 10 years of constant harassment and censorship by the state for cartoons critical of senior government officials. The Malaysian government has seized Zunar’s books and magazines, which also feature work by other cartoonists. The factories producing his titles have been raided and vendors have been warned not to sell his titles. Zunar has been detained and threatened with a charge of sedition. He has fought back by initiating legal challenges to his detention and to the seizing of his titles. Learn more about Zunar and his struggle in the Oceania/East Asia section of our Art to Die For collection. [full story]

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