CARTOONISTS RIGHTS NETWORK INTERNATIONAL

Interview: Saba’aneh on the “red lines” for a Palestinian cartoonist

Share

CRNI Executive Director Dr. Robert Russell speaks with our Regional Representative for Palestine, cartoonist Mohammad Saba’aneh following his recent detention by Israeli border guards and confiscation of artwork.

Russell: To your knowledge are there other cartoonists in Palestine or Israel who are being harassed, questioned or worse from any of the major players in the conflict: PLO, Hamas, IDF et al?

Saba’aneh: Yes, one of my friends, Osama Nazzal, was under investigation from the IDF because of his cartoons. Ismael Albazem, a cartoonist from Gaza was arrested by Hamas because he did a lot of cartoons criticizing Hamas movement. Actually, I am the only one who has faced pressures from all sides at the same time.

R: What are the “red line” rules for a cartoonist working in Palestine right now? Have these red lines changed at all since President Trump named Jerusalem as the location for the new US embassy?

S: There is no relation between Trump’s decision and the red lines in Palestine. Always our critical red line is the portrayal of religion and the sensitivities of any political party which has nominated that religion as a strategy and title for them, like Hamas and Al Jihad.  I faced a big campaign against me, organised threats via mobile phone calls because I did a cartoon criticizing one of these parties.  I think this political party converted its faithful into a tool of censorship under the name of religion.  They became a “holy” political party and the people deal with them as if God’s Representative.

R: Focusing on your case: do you think the authorities will return the tapestry cartoon that they seized from you last week?

S: Certainly not. I think Israeli security understood the value of cartoons after Charlie Hebdo and how the world engages with and respects this art form. Israel started attacking cartoonists by many means; arresting them, investigating and accusing them of anti-semitism. That happened recently with a German cartoonist, not just Palestinian cartoonists. I am sure the Israeli security forces will take further action against me. I do not know what exactly, but they are escalating against me and the art of cartooning. The problem is I am the only cartoonist working in Israeli-controlled Palestinian territory.

R: Would it help if we wrote a letter, admittedly I don’t know exactly where we would send it, encouraging the return of your property?

S: I think if I scale up any protest and demand they give me the print back it will only encourage them to ban me from travel.  I should be careful with them, this is not the first time they did some things against me but this time I chose to talk about it publicly.

R: What are the media outlets in the Middle East/Palestine that you trust to tell the truth, or what might be closest to the truth on all sides?

S: In terms of the Arab situation I do not trust many. Mostly I try to get my information and news from BBC and CNN.

R: Are other artists, dramatists, singers, or any other kind of arts professional also getting criticism? Are any of them being threatened or are they under any danger? If so, who are they?

S: In addition to Nazzal and Albazem… Graffitti artist Hamza Abu Ayyash because of an image on his Facebook page. Majida Shahen, cartoonist, she did a cartoon against Al Jihad Al Islami and they threatened her with death.

R: Do you want to continue to run cartooning workshops?

S: Yes sure, later in the summer I’ve arranged a short workshop for special needs kids under the name of CRNI.

R: Thank you for your continuing dedication and courage, Mohammad.

 To Report a Cartoonist in Danger  Email Cartoonists Rights Network International

Cartooning for Peace condemns sacking of German Cartoonist

Share
From Cartooning for Peace’s press release:

Cartooning for Peace protests against the Süddeutsche Zeitung’s
dismissal of the German cartoonist Dieter Hanitzsch because of the
following cartoon published in the same newspaper on 15 May
2018.

It represents Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in an outfit and decorum
referring to Israeli singer Netta Barzilai’s victory at Eurovision 2018. He pronounces
the sentence “Nächstes Jahr in Jerusalem!” (Next year in Jerusalem!), tweeted by the
leader of Israel following the victory.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is up to each person to make his or her own idea and judgement, according to his
or her experience, opinions and individual knowledge. Dieter Hanitzsch, who says he
made this drawing to criticize current Israeli policy and the exploitation of his
compatriot’s victory, explains its aim in an interview with the newspaper Dresdner
Neueste Nachrichten.

Kurt Kister, the newspaper’s editor, while acknowledging from the outset that in his
view the cartoonist he has known for a long time is neither racist nor anti-Semitic,
reacted to the decision in an article published on the newspaper’s website2.
While he does not consider the cartoon as being anti-Semitic, he shares the many
individual and public criticisms and attacks that detect a series of anti-Semitic
stereotypes and clichés in the cartoon that, even if not knowingly used for this
purpose, would be likely to be understood as anti-Semitic or feed into such discourse.
In this context, the Stürmer is even mentioned, a newspaper pushing the Nazis’ anti-
Semitic obsession to its extremes. As for the newspaper’s second editor, Wolfgang
Krach, like his colleague, maintains that the drawing could be interpreted as anti-
Semitic. He added that this had been the subject of internal and external debate and
that the decision to dismiss would be motivated not only by the design but also by
subsequent exchanges with its author. He apologized on behalf of the newspaper
and promised to review his editorial procedures to avoid further controversy.
In a nutshell: a cartoonist who, more or less, no one considers anti-Semitic, is
nevertheless dismissed in dishonourable conditions.

Cartooning for Peace deeply regrets the newspaper’s decision to dismiss the
cartoonist for this cartoon as a result of public pressure. Cartooning for Peace also
regrets that the newspaper does not take even greater collective and editorial
responsibility for the newspaper and disassociates itself from its cartoonist once the
storm has started and then proposes to review its editorial approach to the
publication of the cartoons and revise it if necessary. Cartooning for Peace deplores
what amounts to a reduction in freedom of expression, all the more so as this type of
control is likely to become a model.
Cartooning for Peace, which has been fighting against anti-Semitism, Islamophobia
and all forms of racism since its creation, deplores an attack on freedom of
expression and the abusive dismissal of the cartoonist after a long career with the
Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper.

Allenby Bridge: Saba’aneh detained, questioned, artwork taken

Share

The CRNI regional rep was questioned once again by Israeli forces.

Saba’aneh with his cartoons at the Bastogne festival, Belgium 2018

Just Word Books, publishers of Mohammad Saba’aneh’s cartoon collection White and Black have let us know that the cartoonist was detained and questioned on Allenby Bridge while journeying to his home in Ramallah from a cartoon festival in Belgium.

The full details of the events of May 31st can be read here. Of particular note is the reported confiscation of a substantial piece of artwork; Saba’aneh says a large cartoon print in the style of a narrative tapestry was taken from him.

Saba’aneh and international cartoonist colleagues look at the print of his work later confiscated by Israeli border forces.

In 2016 we were informed of a very similar incident when Saba’aneh re-entered the country from a work assignment in Jordan. Allenby Bridge is the sole entry point for West Bank Palestininans travelling abroad and was the site of his 2013 arrest that led to five months in prison.

CRNI’s regional representative in Palestine, Saba’aneh has in the past been harassed by officialdom on both sides of the border.

He is a courageous artist and campaigner dedicated to justice and peace. We trust he is unbowed by this latest affront but none the less condemn the baseless harassment and detention described and call for the immediate return of his property, its confiscation being an outrageous act of censorship and vandalism.

We commend Just World Educational for their unflinching support of Saba’aneh and his work.

 To Report a Cartoonist in Danger  Email Cartoonists Rights Network International

Award-winning cartoonist censored in USA

Share

UPDATE 06/14 – Rogers confirms his dismissal via Twitter.

Rob Rogers, political cartoonist at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, has been dropped from the paper’s opinion pages.

Roger’s June 1st cartoon is an example of work that did not appear in the paper that employs him. Our friends at the American Association of Editorial Cartoonists (AAEC) have made a statement concerning his apparent disappearance.

Local news radio 90.5 WESA has more, reporting that last week five of Rogers’ cartoons were not punished and that this is due to intervention by editorial director Keith Burris, seemingly a supporter of President Donald Trump.

Rogers’ work continues to appear unabated via his website and social media. He is a recipient twice over of the Overseas Press Club’s Thomas Nast Award, the National Headliner Award, numerous Golden Quills, the National Press Foundation’s Berryman Award and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. He’s also committed to freedom of expression and preservation of the cartoon art form, serving as president of the AAEC in the past and currently at the Toonseum as well as making a generous donation to CRNI, enabling us to assist a refugee cartoonist in the Middle East.

It is disturbing to see a high-profile advocate for and proponent of cartooning being censored in such a blatant manner. We trust the readers of the Post-Gazette will make their feelings known in due course.

 To Report a Cartoonist in Danger  Email Cartoonists Rights Network International

Yet Another Cartoonist Jailed In Turkey

Share

UPDATE 06/06: latest reports indicate Kurtcebe has been released on probation. More to follow.

Respected political cartoonist & graphic novelist Nuri Kurtcebe has been given a 14 month prison sentence.

In what is becoming a depressingly familiar pattern, Turkish media reported yesterday that another high-profile press and media worker has fallen foul of Turkey’s penal system. Nuri Kurtcebe has been found guilty of “insulting”  President Erdoğan in a cartoon from 2015.

Long-time readers of CRNI’s blog will recall that Erdoğan has engaged in industrial-scale persecution of academics, broadcasters, comedians, commentators and satirists for some time. Today Turkey ranks as the world’s number one jailer of journalists.

Another victim of Erdoğan’s ire is cartoonist Musa Kart, himself recently sentenced to prison. According to the Cumhuriyet newspaper Kart has said:

“Apparently, this ruling has not abandoned the idea of ​​neutralizing cartoonists with prison sentences. I hope and pray that on June 25th this political climate devoid of humor will change. I am continuing to resume caricature and myths against the threats of repression and punishment.”

Kart refers to the presidential election later this month.

Kurtcebe’s cartoon suggests that Turkey’s nominally secular government may not be as the president contends.

Kurtcebe is one of the co-founders of the original Gırgır magazine. Its successor was shut amid a “blasphemy” controversy last year which led to a third cartoonist, Seyfi Şahin being sent to prison two weeks ago.

We echo Musa Kart’s sentiments and hope that Turkey’s cartoonists can look forward to the return of normal working conditions in the near future.

 To Report a Cartoonist in Danger  Email Cartoonists Rights Network International

Ramón Nsé Esono Ebalé is free

Share

Nine months on, Ramón has left Equatorial Guinea behind.

The cartoonist is safe and well with friends in Madrid, Spain.

Earlier this year we reported that Ramón Nsé Esono Ebalé aka Jamón y Queso, recipient of 2017’s Courage in Editorial Cartooning Award, had been cleared of all criminal charges levelled against him in Equatorial Guinea.

Despite his proven innocence Ramón was not given his passport upon release from police custody. Hence he was still in effect a prisoner. He is an E.Guinean citizen but his home and family are in El Salvador.

Today we are happy to report that Ramón’s documents were returned and he is free at last.

A statement released today and co-singed by CRNI reads as follows.

(Nairobi, May 29, 2018)—The Equatorial Guinean artist Ramón Esono Ebalé left the country on May 28, 2018, after being imprisoned for six months on apparently false charges and then waiting three months for travel documents, 13 rights organizations said today.

“Ramón Esono Ebalé’s nine-month saga shows how many tools the Equatorial Guinean government has at its disposal to silence critics,” said Sarah Saadoun, of Human Rights Watch. “But it also is a powerful example of how solidarity and activism can confront abuses.”

Esono Ebalé, a prominent artist and cartoonist often critical of the government, who traveled to Equatorial Guinea to request a passport, was arrested on September 16, 2017 in Malabo, the capital, and charged almost three months later with counterfeiting around US$1,800 worth of the local currency. The line of questioning during the interrogation and a lack of evidence raised serious concerns that the allegations were politically motivated. These concerns were bolstered during the trial, when the government’s sole witness admitted on the stand that he was just following his bosses’ orders.

The judge dismissed the case on February 27, and Esono Ebalé was freed, but he remained effectively trapped in the country because he lacked the proper travel documents. He was finally issued a passport on May 23 and left the country five days later.

Throughout this ordeal, dozens of cartoonists’ rights and human rights organizations and advocates worked to publicize the case internationally, including with the United Nations and global policymakers. The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights wrote a letter of appeal to the Equatorial Guinean government, and US Senator Richard Durbin remained actively engaged with the case.

“We, the #FreeNseRamon coalition, hundreds of artists, journalists, activists, rights defenders and supporters from around the world, celebrate that Ramón will finally be able to see his loved ones after an ordeal that lasted almost nine months,” said Tutu Alicante, executive director of EG Justice, a group that monitors the government’s human rights record. “Many critical voices remain silenced and imprisoned in Equatorial Guinea, but today, we rejoice that one of those talented activists is free and can go back to drawing truth to power.”

The human rights groups and advocates are APIM, Arterial Network, Committee to Protect Journalists, CRNI, Caoilfhionn Gallagher QC, Jonathan Price, Paul Mason, International Media Defence Panel, Doughty Street Chambers, EG Justice, FIDH, within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, FREEMUSE, Human Rights Watch, Index on Censorship, PEN International, and Reporters without Borders.

We commend Tutu Alicante and EG Justice as well as all the other organisations who have worked tirelessly on Ramón’s behalf since his detention last September.

 To Report a Cartoonist in Danger  Email Cartoonists Rights Network International