CPJ

Iranian cartoonist Hadi Heidari freed from Evin Prison

April 28, 2016

Cartoon Hadi Heidari posted on Instagram on his release from prison

Hadi Hadeiri cartoon in response to Nov. 13 terrorist attacks in Paris

Iranian cartoonist Hadi Heidari freed from Evin Prison

Iranian cartoonist Hadi Heidari has been released from Tehran’s Erin Prison. Mr. Heidari had been arrested by government agents on November 16, 2015, at the offices at the reformist newspaper, Shahrvand. The cartoonist was taken into custody after a judge ordered Hadeiri to serve the balance of a 2013 suspended sentence stemming from a cartoon deemed anti-state. Heidari’s November arrest came shortly after he posted a cartoon in response to the Paris terrorist attacks which was shared around the world.

As Hadi Hadeiri was released, three other journalists were jailed in Iran on charges of “spreading propaganda against the ruling system, conspiring against officials and insulting authorities.” According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, Iran has been one of the world’s most notarious countries for jailing journalists since 2009.

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Malaysian High Court Decision Opens Door To Zunar’s Prosecution Under Sedition Act

April 16, 2016

“This is an unprecedented onslaught against free expression in Malaysia, and an attempt to muzzle the entire population”— Jahabar Sadiq, former editor of the Malaysian Insider

Malaysia’s embattled cartoonist Zunar

Cartoonist Zunar has lost his bid to convince Malaysia’s High Court to quash that country’s Sedition Act. Zunar told the BenarNews: “We challenged the law because in our view it goes against the Federal Constitution, which in Article 10 states that every citizen has the right to freely give their views.” A date will now be set for Zunar’s prosecution under the Sedition Act. Zunar was charged over a series of tweets made following a controversial court case in 2015. If found guilty, he faces a possible 43-year prison sentence.

Malaysia’s Sedition Act was enacted during the country’s colonial period by a British ruling class intent on discouraging independence-minded Malaysians. Malaysia’s current ruler, Prime Minister Najib Razak, promised in 2012 to repeal the Sedition Act, but has since come to rely on it to stifle dissent against his scandal-plagued government.

“In 2015 alone, at least 91 individuals were arrested, charged or investigated for sedition – almost five times as many as during the law’s first 50 years of existence” — Amnesty International

Zunar, Malaysia’s most internationally celebrated cartoonist, has faced government harassment since 2010. He has been arrested, jailed, had his books banned and seen his printers, booksellers, website managers and staff intimidated. In that time, Zunar has been awarded the Human Rights Watch Hellman/Hammett Award twice, Cartoonists Rights’ 2011 Courage in Editorial Cartooning award, the 2015 Committee for the Protection of Journalists’ International Press Freedom Award.

Regarding Zunar’s impending trial, a member of his legal team said, “We are likely to appeal further to the court of appeal, and we will seek further postponement of Zunar’s hearing at the Sessions Court.”

Zunar, in accepting the International Press Freedom Award, told the awards audience, “It is both my responsibility and my right as a citizen to expose corruption, wrongdoing and injustices . . . My mission is to fight through cartoon.”

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Zunar: My Mission Is To Fight Through Cartoon

November 25, 2015

Zunar presented CPJ International Press Freedom Award

Malaysian political cartoonist Zunar, who is currently facing a possible 43-year jail sentence on charges brought under Malaysia’s Sedition Act, was presented the International Press Freedom Award from the Committee to Protect Journalists at a gala event in New York City on November 24.

Zunar’s acceptance speech:

Thank you very much for this award.

I’m so happy to be here tonight to accept this and not in a jail somewhere in Malaysia.

I would like to dedicate this award to the Malaysians who have equally pushed for reform.

It is both my responsibility and my right as a citizen to expose corruption, wrongdoing and injustices. Laws like the Sedition Act mean that drawing cartoons is a crime since the Sedition Act is a criminal act.

The government of Malaysia is a cartoon government; a government of the cartoon, by the cartoon, for the cartoon — sorry Abraham Lincoln.

For asking people to laugh at the government, I was handcuffed, detained, thrown into the lock up. But I kept laughing and encouraging people to laugh with me. Why? Because laughter is the best form of protest.

My mission is to fight through cartoon.

Why pinch when you can punch? People need to know the truth and I will continue to fight through my cartoons.

I want to give a clear message to the aggressors — they can ban my cartoons, they can ban my books, but they cannot ban my mind.

Also receiving CPJ International Press Freedom Awards were Cándido Figueredo Ruíz of Paraguay, Syrian citizen journalist collective Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently, and Zone 9 bloggers of Ethiopia https://www.cpj.org/awards/2015/zone-9-bloggers-ethiopia.php.

Zunar’s next court appearance regarding his sedition charges is scheduled for December 8. [Page]

To report a cartoonist in danger — Email Cartoonists Rights Network

CPJ

Iranian cartoonist Hadi Heidari freed from Evin Prison

To Report a Cartoonist in Danger Email Cartoonists Rights Network

To Donate to Cartoonist Rights Network Click Here

Malaysian High Court Decision Opens Door To Zunar’s Prosecution Under Sedition Act

“This is an unprecedented onslaught against free expression in Malaysia, and an attempt to muzzle the entire population”— Jahabar Sadiq, former editor of the Malaysian Insider

“In 2015 alone, at least 91 individuals were arrested, charged or investigated for sedition – almost five times as many as during the law’s first 50 years of existence” — Amnesty International

To Report a Cartoonist in Danger Email Cartoonists Rights Network

To Donate to Cartoonist Rights Network Click Here

Zunar: My Mission Is To Fight Through Cartoon

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