Ahmed Kabir Kishore

Robert Russell Courage in Cartooning Award 2021: Nominations Open

Cartoonists Rights Network International announces open nominations as we seek to recognise the exemplary bravery and integrity of a cartoonist with our twenty-sixth award presentation.

Ahmed Kabir Kishore, winner of the Robert Russell Courage in Cartooning Award 2020

CRNI presents this award to a cartoonist who in the last twelve months has shown remarkable courage while suffering a threat or threats that constitute a violation of their human rights, especially their freedom of expression as defined by Article 19 of the UN Declaration of Human Rights. Specifically:

  • physical violence, or the threat of violence, to self or family
  • criminalisation e.g. charges of sedition, “insult” to the state etcetera
  • arrest, detention or imprisonment by police, military personnel or immigration officers
  • forced displacement from home
  • censorship
  • vexatious litigation (“SLAPP” suits)
  • online harassment e.g. hacking, DDoS attacks, mass trolling etcetera
  • verbal or physical abuse or intimidation based on age, gender, race or sexual orientation

Past recipients of the award include:

  • 2020 – Ahmed Kabir Kishore, Bangladesh: no longer a prisoner, Kishore nonetheless continues to experience judicial harassment in Bangladesh and has suffered permanent damage to his health from wounds he says were given during police interrogation; recently a medical panel failed to substantiate his official allegations of torture.
  • 2019 – Badiucao, China/Australia: Badiucao continues to speak truth to power as a dissident based in Australia and has been vociferous in his support of the “Milk Tea Alliance” movement; he still reports evidence of cyber attack and online threats and for the past several months has been unable to use his Instagram account.
  • 2018 – Pedro X. Molina, Nicaragua/USA: last month Molina’s former employers, Confidencial news, were beseiged by police ahead of this year’s presidential elections; the escalating situation makes it increasingly unlikely that Molina will be able to return home safely and he has embarked upon a new position at Cornell University.
PX Molina continues to speak truth to power while in exile.

Read about all the previous Courage in Cartooning Award Winners here

While making their nominations correspondents may wish to consider the regions that have seen the most obvious and egregious collapses in human rights standards over the last year. We have already reported on the alarming backslide in Malaysia and there are signs of a very similar downward trend in India. The whole world has been seized by the horror of the Myanmar coup and the the most recent violence in Gaza. We are also reminded of those nations that have suffered severely under governments unable or unwilling to manage the pandemic, most notably Brazil.

Of course there are are many individual cases of note too, from cartoonists singled out by politicians to those disappeared into the penal system or taken to court by overly sensitive public officials.

Please send your nomination to CRNI Executive Director Terry Anderson at terry.anderson@cartoonistsrights.org with “Annual Award” on the subject line — or click here:

Email us your Courage Award nomination

The email should contain a brief description of the problems faced by the cartoonist. And if possible please include contact information for them, a family member or other representative. The cut-off date for nominations is Friday, July 9th at 12.00 EST

CRNI’s Board of Directors will consider the nominees and select a recipient. For the second year in row, and as measures taken against the COVID-19 pandemic continue, we do not anticipate making an in-person award presentation. An online announcement will be made in the fall. We sincerely hope that 2022 will see the return of cartoonists’ gatherings as normal and with it resumption of conventional awards-giving.

Note: CRNI does not present its award to a specific cartoon in recognition of its excellence and so is not seeking the submission of cartoons about freedom of expression or threats to it.  We are concerned solely with cartoonists’ human rights.  Therefore CRNI makes no comment on their professional status or quality/content of their work. However we will not consider cartoonists whose output advocates violence or encourages any form of hate speech.

 To Report a Cartoonist in Danger  Email Cartoonists Rights Network International

As a probe into allegations begins, time to ask: “Who Tortured Kishore?”

A Dhaka court has ordered an inquiry into allegations of torture made by the cartoonist Ahmed Kabir Kishore, following his release on bail after ten months in prison. CRNI demands an independent and impartial investigation amid sustained levels of criticism directed at Bangladesh’s government.

UPDATE – MARCH 19 2021: KISHORE REPORTED TO HOSPITAL FOR A MEDICAL EXAMINATION YESTERDAY AS INSTRUCTED BY THE COURT, BUT FURTHER TESTS ARE REQUIRED THIS WEEKEND. ACCORDINGLY, AN APPLICATION HAS BEEN MADE TO EXTEND THE DEADLINE OF THE OFFICIAL INQUIRY.

As Ahmed Kabir Kishore recovers from surgery to help heal an infected ear injury, a wound that has permanently damaged his hearing, we welcome the news that there is to be an investigation into his allegations of torture while detained by police last May. However given the results of a similar procedure after the untimely death of Kishore’s co-accused, the writer Mushtaq Ahmed, we are not optimistic about the prospects of justice for the victim. There must be no cover-up, no bland obfuscation.

In a remarkable, harrowing account given to the press two weeks ago, Ahmed Kabir Kishore described torture, attempts to plant evidence at his home and a period of detention that predates the officially logged time of his arrest and entry into police custody.

“They hit me on the leg with a thick stick with a steel knob on the tip. There were four sticks displayed in the front to hit me with […] A person got up and slammed both sides of my head with his palms. They hit me at the back of the head […] They asked me for the passwords of my email and social media accounts. But by then I was not hearing anything in my right ear, which was bleeding.”

Ahmed Kabir Kishore describes physical injuries sustained during police interrogation.

While in court in February, prior to the death of Ahmed and successful bail of Kishore the pair attempted to draw attention to their treatment; the writer spoke out on behalf of his ailing companion and the cartoonist manged to pass a note to his legal representative. Within was a description of his alleged torture. Those responsible must be found, given an opportunity to account for themselves and, if found to have broken the law, receive the due penalties.

Even if one agrees that the Digital Security Act 2018 provides proportionate powers to combat truly criminal activity – and few do – it must be accepted that those arrested under the act are entitled to due process and can expect to receive a fair hearing without suffering injury or death while in the custody of the state. Yet Ahmed Kabir Kishore barely survived the past ten months and he has yet to learn when his actual trial will begin. Tragically, Mushatq Ahmed didn’t make it.

We note that criticism of Bangladesh and the government led by prime minister Sheikh Hasina has continued unabated since the death of Mushtaq Ahmed. Today, Human Rights Watch have been scathing in their call for clarification from Commonwealth Secretary-General Baroness Patricia Scotland after she praised the Bangladeshi leader’s pandemic response, saying “It is hard to understand what criteria the Commonwealth used to conclude that Sheikh Hasina should be lauded for her leadership and singled out as an inspiring figure. Baroness Scotland should clarify her statements and stand with victims against abuses in Bangladesh, including those carried out as part of the response to the Covid-19 pandemic.”

We quite agree. The only way to recover from the reputational damage of the last several weeks is for Bangladesh to respond swiftly, transparently and fairly to the grave transgressions that have been committed under the Digital Security Act.

 To Report a Cartoonist in Danger  Email Cartoonists Rights Network International

Kishore bailed for six months; release from custody expected soon

CRNI together with Cartooning For Peace (making the same statement in French) welcomes this morning’s decision of the High Court in Dhaka to grant bail to cartoonist Ahmed Kabir Kishore, ending his ten months of imprisonment. But questions remain about the death of his co-accused Mushtaq Ahmed, Kishore’s allegations of physical abuse and, more broadly, the future of the Digital Security Act (DSA) used to detain them and countless others in Bangladesh.

Kishore & Ahmed – Ronmac Cartoons

UPDATE – MARCH 10 2021: KISHORE ENTERS FORMAL COMPLAINT AGAINST ALLEGED TORTURERS.

UPDATE – MARCH 4 2021: KISHORE RELEASED FROM PRISON, CONFIRMED BY CRNI.

Following the grim news of last week it is with some relief we can report that Ahmed Kabir Kishore may, according to his lawyer, expect to be released from custody after processing of the court’s instructions and within the next two to three days.

The death of writer Mushtaq Ahmed resulted in four days of continued protest in Dhaka, some of it met with police brutality. Earlier this week the UN’s High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet intervened, saying “There needs to be an overhaul of the Digital Security Act under which Ahmed was charged – and all those detained under this Act for exercising their rights to freedom of expression and opinion must be released.”

Last week the EU parliamentary sub-committee on human rights took evidence on Bangladesh and the unraveling situation there, mere hours before Mushtaq Ahmed’s death, prompting chair Maria Arena to say “I call for Ahmed Kabir Kishore’s immediate release.”

Today we expect Karima Bennoune, special rapporteur for cultural rights, to highlight Kishore’s circumstances as she is given the floor at the 46th session of the UN Human Rights Council. She has already said in her written submission on violations occurring in the midst of the pandemic that she is “deeply concerned about the jailing” citing it as an example of artists “targeted for work through which they critically assess official and public responses to the pandemic.”

Yesterday Law Minister Anihul Huq appeared to signal a willingness to co-operate on the matter of the DSA, saying: “I am discussing it with the UN Human Rights Council. We are comparing the law with (similar laws in) the rest of the world. We are working on how to develop a check and balance system to prevent any misuse or abuse, and how that can be incorporated within this law.”

Executive Director of CRNI Terry Anderson said: “Ahmed Kabir Kishore is not yet safe. I expect him to be released without further harm to his person, demand that his allegations of torture be impartially and independently investigated and that anyone implicated in the death of Mushtaq Ahmed is held accountable. I look forward to Kishore’s eventual acquittal and hope that the entire Digital Security Act soon becomes a thing of the past. The weight of the world’s human rights community is now fully against it.”

A statement from the president of Cartooning for Peace, the editorial cartoonist KAK, endorses this view, adding: “Being a press cartoonist myself, I will never come to terms with the idea that a citizen expressing his or her opinion and sensibility in a few strokes on a piece of paper should have to face that level of repression.”

MR ANDERSON SPOKE TO PRX “THE WORLD” PRIOR TO THE COURT’S DECISION; LISTEN HERE.

 To Report a Cartoonist in Danger  Email Cartoonists Rights Network International

BANGLADESH: release Ahmed Kabir Kishore before he dies in custody

What now for detained cartoonist Ahmed Kabir Kishore as allegations of mistreatment and torture surface and his co-accused, the writer Mushtaq Ahmed is reported DOA at a hospital outside Dhaka?

UPDATE – FEBRUARY 28 2021: according to local press and confirmed by Kishore’s lawyer, a Dhaka magistrate has rejected a “remand prayer” (in essence, an effort by the police to interrogate the cartoonist once again) and his seventh bail request will be heard in the High Court tomorrow, March 1st. Meanwhile an official application has been made to open an investigation into Kishore’s physical mistreatment and allegations of torture. Protests over the death of Mushtaq Ahmed have continued over the last forty-eight hours, prompting severe counter-measures from police, and the heads of thirteen diplomatic missions have written to Bangladesh’s government voicing their grave concern.

Readers of this website over the past year will know that Ahmed Kabir Kishore, the winner of our Robert Russell Courage in Cartooning Award, has been languishing in jail since May 2020 when his cartoons about the Bangladeshi government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic led to his arrest under the Digital Security Act, a law widely and very recently criticised by Article 19, Committee to Protect Journalists, and Human Rights Watch Asia experts as an unjust, vague and overly broad law that grants Bangladesh’s government latitude to “essentially arrest anyone they want based on any online activity”.

Kishore was among eleven co-accused arrested last year. The ten months since have entailed a convoluted saga that at times has strained the limits of credibility in its detail. But of all those involved in the amorphous and poorly-articulated case the state proposes against the group, the two most egregiously mistreated have been Kishore and writer Mushtaq Ahmed. Both were seized by the notorious Rapid Action Battalion shock-troopers, both put in a maximum security facility, both denied bail six times while others were set free amid the oncoming pandemic and neither were ever out of the frame as eight others named in the case were, albeit briefly.

According to local press both men were visibly underweight earlier this month. On February 23rd Kishore made a brief appearance at a magistrate court hearing and while there passed a note to a lawyer, who then passed them to his family. We have heard directly from Kishore’s brother Ahsan Kabir and his defence barrister Jyotirmoy Barua. For some time the Kabir family had warned that they feared he was being tortured during his time in custody but this past week offered their first opportunity to get any detail. They have reported a shocking and extensive deterioration in his physical health.

He is an insulin dependent diabetic and we had long expected he would not fare well in custody while unable to confidently and freely take adequate injections. But the reported issues with his eyesight and infected wounds in his ears and on his left leg as well as loss of weight cannot be easily explained merely by insulin rationing. Indeed Kishore has put in writing the allegation that he is a victim of physical abuse and offered descriptions from memory of the two police officers he alleges are responsible.

While weighing the ramifications of these developments news broke that Mushtaq Ahmed perished on the evening of February 25th. The official line is that he simply collapsed in his cell at the Kashimpur jail and was dead on arrival at the hospital in Gazipur. CPJ has the fullest account at this early stage but it is safe to say that explanations of Ahmed’s cause of death will not be taken at face value by most observers unless coming from an impartial source.

From the outset we have expressed deep concerns about Ahmed Kabir Kishore’s welfare, sentiments that were echoed by a host of organisations and experts through the course of last year. But we are now quite convinced that the cartoonist is in imminent danger of death. His immediate release is absolutely essential.

As CPJ, HRW and other leading freedom of expression organisations take note of what has occurred we expect a critical mass of support to coalesce behind Ahmed Kabir Kishore. The only question is whether Bangladesh’s government, police and judiciary will at last do the decent and humane thing and drop the entire case against him or through their inaction make tacit admission that they are content to risk the death of a cartoonist, a citizen who simply had the temerity to post some drawings on Facebook.

 To Report a Cartoonist in Danger  Email Cartoonists Rights Network International

UN experts, free expression NGOs call on Bangladesh to acquit Ahmed Kabir Kishore

Earlier this week three of the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights’ Special Rapporteurs have co-signed a written statement seeking the immediate release of Bangladeshi cartoonist Ahmed Kabir Kishore, jailed in May 2020 and winner of CRNI’s Robert Russell Courage in Cartooning Award. Today we have done likewise together with Cartooning For Peace and Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

Cartoon by Gianluca Costantini – Channel Draw

In their intervention dated December 16th Karima Bennoune – Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights, Irene Khan – Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression and Tlaleng Mofokeng – Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health wrote:

“Around the world, COVID-19 outbreaks in prisons increase the danger of harm or death of individuals with underlying health conditions such as diabetes, hypertension and chronic respiratory conditions. Bangladeshi authorities have released thousands of individuals due to the threat that COVID-19 poses in prisons, and there seems to be no legitimate reason to refuse Mr. Kishore’s request for bail. We urge Bangladesh to release Mr. Kishore on humanitarian grounds to avoid a further deterioration of his health. During the pandemic, it is more vital than ever to respect the rights of artists such as [Mr. Kishore] to express dissenting views. Not only are these rights internationally guaranteed, they play a vital role in promoting critical policy discussions. Silencing their voices harms their human rights – and also puts everyone at greater risk.”

Their public contribution follows that made by Maria Arena, chair of the European Parliament’s subcommitee on human rights, dated October 8th.

In a joint statement with Cartooning For Peace and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) we are today redoubling our demands for the humane and just treatment of Ahmed Kabir Kishore as a matter of utmost urgency, saying in part:

“More than seven months on from Ahmed Kabir Kishore’s arrest by the Rapid Action Battalion – nominally the police division deployed against the worst, most dangerous criminals in Bangladesh – time is up for both them and the government they serve. Beyond initial charges made, no case has been substantiated […] Even allowing for the delays that might have been the consequence of the pandemic, the full case against Kishore should have been articulated by now […] Enough is enough. Ahmed Kabir Kishore should be released immediately and all charges against him dismissed at the first opportunity.“

DOWNLOAD THE FULL TEXT IN ENGLISH AND FRENCH

UPDATE – JANUARY 21 2021: multiple human rights organisations have joined voice in calling for Kishore’s release. We agree with the strongly-worded statement from exiled campaigners Shuddhashar (Norway), saying “[we] firmly believe that criticism of any kind, whether uttered, penned or drawn, is by no means a crime.” Kishore’s name is also included in the latest release about increasing authoritarianism in Bangladesh from the Asian Human Rights Commission (Hong Kong) – “[they] have been using the COVID-19 pandemic as an additional excuse for encroaching on the freedoms of assembly, expression, including the freedom of the press.” – and report on arbitrary detentions in the country from Amnesty International (UK) – “We call on the Bangladesh authorities to immediately and unconditionally release all artists unlawfully detained, drop the charges against them, and guarantee people’s right to freedom of artistic expression and creativity, as enshrined in domestic and international law.”

 To Report a Cartoonist in Danger  Email Cartoonists Rights Network International

Ahmed Kabir Kishore wins CRNI’s Courage in Cartooning Award 2020

Cartoonists Rights Network International presents its annual Robert Russell Courage in Cartooning Award to Ahmed Kabir Kishore (Bangladesh) arrested over five months ago and held despite the added dangers presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.

UPDATE, OCTOBER 21 2020: AFTER A HEARING WHERE BAIL WAS NOT GRANTED LAST WEEKEND, CRNI UNDERSTANDS THAT THE CASE AGAINST KISHORE IS TO BE GIVEN FURTHER CONSIDERATION IN THE HIGH COURT DIVISION OF THE BANGLADESH SUPREME COURT; ONCE AGAIN WE CALL FOR THE DISMISSAL OF ALL CRIMINAL CHARGES AND FOR THE CARTOONIST’S IMMEDIATE RELEASE

UPDATE, OCTOBER 8 2020: CHAIR OF EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT’S HUMAN RIGHTS SUBCOMMITTEE CALLS FOR KISHORE’S RELEASE ON HUMANITARIAN GROUNDS

Ahmed is a cartoonist and activist known to CRNI for over a decade. He campaigned bravely on behalf of the disappeared Sri Lankan cartoonist Prageeth Eknaligoda (2010) and jailed Bangladeshi cartoonist Arifur Rahman (2007) and identified as a CRNI “affiliate leader” in the country, although doing so inevitably made him a target for accusations of aligning with foreign interests. This speaks to his courage, as do his public demonstrations for the human rights not only of cartoonists but also Hijra people and in defense of health and consumer rights and the Bengali language.

Through April and into May of this year Ahmed posted to Facebook a series of cartoons he entitled “Life in the Time of Corona”, satirizing society’s response to, and critical of the government’s handling of public health during the pandemic.

On May 5th 2020 Ahmed was among several people arrested under the Digital Security Act, 2018 (DSA) by personnel from the Dhaka division of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB-3), the unit officially deployed against terrorists, drug lords and human traffickers but often accused of being an instrument of government suppression. Lawyers at the Ain-O-Shalish Kendra (ASK) legal aid organization have seen the charge sheet and tell us that Ahmed is alleged to have taken part in a “conspiracy, spreading rumors and misinformation against the prime minister Sheikh Hasina and her late father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.” Ahmed is alleged to be an administrator on a Facebook page called “I am Bangladeshi”, which is considered as the main subject of investigation by the authorities.

In the ensuing months of detention Ahmed has been denied a bail hearing on three occasions (May 17th, June 16th and July 23rd) and subjected to periods of what’s described as “jail gate interrogation”, this despite the ongoing and imminent threat to prison populations posed by corona virus COVID-19 and the release of literally thousands of criminally prosecuted people from jail in Bangladesh for precisely that reason. Ahmed is an insulin-dependent diabetic, meaning he should be afforded some extra protection from infection.

CRNI has petitioned the prime minister on Ahmed’s behalf along with ASK, Cartooning For Peace, Forum for Freedom of Expression, Bangladesh (FExB) and Reporters Without Borders. Our request for clemency has been ignored.

The intent of the Robert Russell Courage in Cartooning Award is to recognize the plight of a cartoonist experiencing a human rights violation – and in our view that is precisely what has happened to Ahmed, several times over – as well as raise their profile in the hope that doing so will help bring about a favorable resolution. 2020 has been an extraordinarily, exceptionally bad year. We could have presented the “Robert Russell” to European cartoonists whose censure was requested by Chinese diplomats, to a Jordanian cartoonist arrested for caricaturing the crown prince of the UAE, Brazilian cartoonists harassed by law enforcement, an Algerian cartoonist detained for “disrespecting” the military or a Palestinian cartoonist subjected to mass internet trolling and death threats over a cartoon to which Saudi Arabians took offense.

Circumstances have been so bad that we were forced to make an emergency statement in the spring, warning that lasting and potentially irreparable damage would be done to the global community of cartoonists in 2020, due in large part to the license the pandemic has granted to authoritarian regimes. Therefore Ahmed Kabir Kishore’s case is emblematic of the times in which we live; his freedom to express skepticism and dissent has been violated and that in itself would be sufficient to attract our attention, but for the last six months his life has been needlessly put at risk by detention in jail – universally recognized as an environment where corona virus is a higher risk – and despite his health condition – again, universally recognized as a contributing factor to illnesses such as COVID-19.

In presenting the Robert Russell Courage in Cartooning Award 2020 to AHMED KABIR KISHORE we call for his immediate release, his total exoneration of all criminal charges and an independent investigation into his treatment while a detainee.

 To Report a Cartoonist in Danger  Email Cartoonists Rights Network International

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