Cartoonists Under Threat

CRNI just received news that Venezuelan cartoonist Rayma Suprani has been fired from her job at El Universal because of a recent cartoon which featured former President Hugo Chavez’s signature flatlining on a monitor representing the national healthcare system.
Rayma has been in trouble with authorities before for cartoons satirizing the Venezuelan leadership, which has become known for its punitive reactions to any kind of criticism from the media. [full story]

The jihadist militant group ISIS has pronounced a death sentence for Kuwati-born comic book innovator Naif Al-Mutawa via Twitter, according to the website arabianbusiness.com
Dr. Al-Mutawa, whose groundbreaking comic “THE 99” has sought to give the Muslim community its own superheroes while at the same time fostering a greater, more positive understanding of Islam among non-Muslim readers, is no stranger to criticism. Though he created THE 99 — whose gaggle of protagonists are each inspired by one of the 99 attributes of Allah as delineated in the Quran — in consultation with Sharia scholars,    [full story]

When Kanika Mishra, a cartoonist and web-animator living in Mumbai, got word that a popular religious leader, Asaram Bapu, had been accused of raping the 16-year old daughter of two of his followers, she reacted in the most powerful way she could. Within hours of hearing there was a police manhunt for Asaram – who claims a religious footprint of more than 400 ashrams and millions of devotees worldwide – Kanika posted a cartoon to her Facebook page putting the soon-to-be-charged holy man squarely in the crosshairs of her cartoon everywoman, Karnika Kahen.
Bapu was already on Mishra’s radar for suggesting that the victim of the infamous 2012 gang rape on a Delhi bus was partly responsible for her rape.    [full story]

CURRENT STATUS: UNKNOWN
June 20, 2014   CRNI has been working ceaselessly to ascertain exactly the exact whereabouts of Mr. Raslan, and to gain information about his health and status. We’ve enlisted the support of the United Nations Human Rights Council, and its Working Group on Arbitrary Detention.
The last official report on Mr. Raslan came via the the Syrian Permanent Mission to the UN in 2013, in response to a UN request for information relating to the cartoonist. At that time, the Syrian Mission confirmed Mr. Raslan’s arrest was for publishing cartoons ‘offending the state’s prestige’, and that he was still under investigation by the ‘relevant authority’. [full story]

It was most welcome news when the website Tunisialive reported on March 4th that after nearly two years in prison, Jabeur Mejri had been freed. Barely two months later, Amnesty International is now reporting that Jabeur has once again been sentenced, this time been to 8 months for ‘insulting an official’ and ‘violating sacred values’.
Our previous update on Jabeur has the full story of his first imprisonment, as well as names and addresses of Tunisian officials you can write to to express your support for Jabeur.

On December 26, 2013 in Quito, Ecuador, twelve policemen entered the home of Fernando Villavicencia. As the parliamentary advisor of the opposition to President Rafael Correa’s regime, he was searched and accused of alleged espionage against President Correa and other officials.
This story was picked up by Xavier Bonilla, a well-known cartoonist for several media outlets in Ecuador. Using his pen name “Bonil”, he went on to publish a cartoon about the controversy in the national newspaper, El Universo. [full story]