Dr. Robert Russell

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

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

Update on Eaten Fish (Ali Dorani) Now Safely in Norway


I’m just off an early-morning Skype call with Ali, who is now safely situated in his apartment, about a 10-minute walk from the ICORN offices in Norway. It was one of the most delightful conversations I’ve ever had. He seems healthy and happy though he does report he is still having difficulty sleeping at night. He is in the process of visiting various doctors to check on his health, and Elizabeth at ICORN is also setting up meetings for him with a wider range of local professionals and cartooning leaders.

He reports that people have been unbelievably kind to him, and that his world is changing quickly. He is just beginning to see all the open windows that are emerging around him. He also reported that as we were speaking, Janet Galbraith was finally leaving Norway on her way home in Australia. What a treat it would have been to be able to speak with of them together. She reported to me last night that she was almost home and is totally exhausted. Totally understandable.
He says he is starting to work on an animated cartoon about his life in the camp, so we continued to talk about what options might be open to him in the near future, and how important it is that his story become a permanent part of the literature of cartooning and human rights. His story deserves a good Hollywood screenwriter.

I remembered that in an email from Andrew Marlton, a.k.a. First Dog on the Moon, that he said it’s not that the Australian government has changed its policy or the UNHCR has had a change of heart towards Ali but that he was basically stolen back from those who stole his freedom four years ago. The ICORN organization deserves a Nobel prize for its courage and single-minded purpose as it rescues human rights workers, journalists, artist, cartoonists and other desperate visionaries from deadly situations. Without them Ali would still be in limbo.

Ali is extremely eager to tell his story, to tell interested audiences what he has been through for the sake of personal freedom. He also knows he has a big job in front of him: contacting all the hundreds if not thousands of people who have helped him, thanking them for their commitment, their cartoons, their time and their positive thoughts all of which have resulted in his new life in Norway.  We also spoke about his coming here to the United States to address various audiences, and I believe CRNI should work towards this objective with some of our partners here.

Ali and I will continue to be in regular communication with each other, keeping current with each other on the various projects that he sees for himself soon.

Robert Russell

 January 5, 2018.

EATEN FISH IS FREE

 

Cartoonists Rights Network International is absolutely delighted to receive news from our colleagues at the International Cities of Refuge Network (ICORN) that our cartoonist colleague, friend and client Ali Durani, better known to all of us as Eaten Fish, has arrived in a safe haven country and will now take up residence in a safe haven city.

This brings a new chapter to Ali’s story, which started about 4 years ago when he was interred in an immigrant refugee camp in Papua New Guinea run by the Australian government. He and thousands of other Inmates on Manus Island have suffered terrible indignities and the loss of almost all of their civil rights.  There have been incidences of murder, suicide, hunger strikes, gross sexual assaults, for years, all while under the “care” of the Australian government.

Read more about his story from earlier posts on our website.

CRNI aided the brave and hard-working human rights worker, Janet Galbraith who works for the Through The Wire literary movement in Australia.  Galbraith has been a tireless advocate for Ali and other detainees during some of the darkest periods of their illegal incarceration.  Some months ago CRNI introduced ICORN and Janet, and as of this press release from ICORN, the rest was human rights history.

For us, this has been the most intractable and difficult cases of a client in grave danger that we have ever been involved with. In 2016 Ali received our Award For Courage In Editorial Cartooning at the annual convention of the AAEC. The international attention that the award brought to Ali’s situation has been a major influence on eventually turning a corner for Ali and all of his supporters.

This is all the result of the work of dozens of human rights and free-speech NGOs, the tireless efforts of cartoonists from the Australian cartooning community (especially our friend and colleague First Dog On The Moon, Andrew Marlton) as well as literally thousands of concerned cartoonists from all over the world, including the members of the AAEC and the Canadian Association of Editorial Cartoonists, Cartooning for Peace, the Professional Cartoonist Organization UK among others. Special thanks to CRNI’s own Nik Kowsar who was the initial contact with Ali and has been his dogged advocate and source of constant support over these rough and challenging years.

We send our very best regards to Ali and assure him of our continued attention, appreciation and support. Janet Galbraith has pulled off a major accomplishment that she and her organization should be very proud of.  Elizabeth Dyvik along with her colleagues at ICORN have also done an extraordinary job finding sanctuary for Ali. With clients safely placed all over Europe, ICORN provides long-term residencies and a complete package of social, professional, educational support services.  Like many other  earlier cases of cartoonists in dire straights ICORN has once again proven to be invaluable, coming through and negotiating a happy outcome for Ali when one seemed almost impossible.

We at CRNI will continue to be involved with Ali while he settles into his new environment,

Congratulations to everyone especially the cartoonists who played a role in this wonderful accomplishment. Congratulations to Ali.  We’ve got your back.

Dr. Robert Russell
Executive Director
Cartoonists Rights Never International

Defiance as Musa Kart prepares for trial

The trial of Turkish cartoonist Musa Kart will commence in ten day’s time. Accused of “abusing trust” and “helping an armed terrorist organisation without being a member”, if found guilty he could go to prison for twenty-nine years.

As the dozen staff members from Cumhuriyet newspaper wait out the final days of their pre-trial detention, a period that for most has lasted some nine months and represents a complete violation of European law, Turkey itself is gripped by a new wave of opposition to the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Last weekend the widespread and peaceful protest movement led by Kemal Kilicdaroglu, March for Justice culminated in a gathering of hundred of thousands of citizens in Istanbul. The imprisoned staff from Cumhuriyet were greatly moved and encouraged for the challenge that lies before them in court.

Musa is quoted as saying:

“We watched the Justice March and the huge, joyous Maltepe Rally held subsequently with emotion in our cell. We saw people at this rally from all walks who are longing for justice. I hope that those governing this country will correctly read the heartfelt messages from this meeting and take the necessary action without delay. They must accept that those who are longing for justice are more numerous than can be captured on newspaper pages and television screens. Growers who have to sell the apricots in their possession for three kurush want justice, as do students who are left in astonishment each year as the questions are stolen. Against such a stark backdrop, I think we must immediately dispense with superficial claims about one rally beating another. Our first hearing will be held at Çağlayan on 24 July. I see myself among the millions who have lost their trust in justice, but we will stand tall that day in the courtroom and defend ourselves. Regardless of how the court rules, I have no doubt that we will be acquitted in the consciences of the millions.”

The Franco-German television channel Arte screened a documentary this week – “Goodbye, Turkey” – featuring exiled journalist Can Dündar and interviews with a range of figures who have either left the country after suffering victimisation or are in the midst of persecution by Erdoğan’s government. It includes a contribution from Musa’s wife Sevinç and an attempt by an undercover crew to film inside the Silivri prison. She describes a marked deterioration in conditions within for Musa and his colleagues, even before the authorities knew that foreign film-makers where in the country.  The program is available for viewing with English subtitles on their website for a limited time.

CRNI notes also the detention of Amnesty International‘s leadership in Turkey, Director Idil Eser and Chair Taner Kılıç. These arrests, like all that have occurred in the country over the last twelve months, are an affront to free speech, democracy and human rights. We send our support to Musa Kart, his family, colleagues and all within Turkey working peaceably and lawfully against authoritarianism and intolerance.

Executive Director Dr. Robert Russell said:

“I express my deepest support to Amnesty International’s brave leaders of their remaining staff in Turkey who have put their lives on the line to bring the stories of this rogue regime and its intolerable assault on basic human rights to the world’s attention. Now that the president of the United States seems to be hailing and congratulating some of the world’s worst tyrants, it would seem that the USA is no longer a champion of democracy and free speech in the world.  His short and inept presidency has already done a generation’s worth of harm to democracy’s body politic. Donald Trump questions whether Western values can survive while he undermines and attacks those same values. I have to wonder aloud where those of us working in defence of democratic values will land in a search for new leadership.”

 To Report a Cartoonist in Danger  Email Cartoonists Rights Network International

Musa Kart indicted, faces 29 years in prison

After five months of imprisonment Turkey has finally, formally indicted the staff from Cumhuriyet newspaper including cartoonist Musa Kart who, if found guilty, faces a twenty-nine year sentence.

As widely reported across Middle-Eastern media and by human rights organisations around the world yesterday,  a total of nineteen names appear in the indictment with a variety of charges and proposed sentences for each suspect.

Musa Kart is accused of “helping an armed terrorist organization while not being a member” and “abusing trust” and prosecutors have stipulated a maximum sentence of twenty-nine years.  His family have confirmed that the reporting of the charges is correct.

The essence of the government’s case against Cumhuriyet is that the paper conducted itself as a fifth column, “[starting] an intense perception operation, targeting the government of the Turkish Republic and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan by using asymmetrical war tactics” and “[providing] a basis for illegal politics.”

The International Press Institute has dismissed the content of the indictment as “nonsense” and in a bullish editorial Cumhuriyet says the details are “nothing but imaginary accusations and aspersions.”

The news comes as the #FreeTurkeyMedia campaign gets underway to highlight the plight of journalists in the county, all though the month preceding World Press Freedom Day.

Musa Kart is a past winner of our Courage in Editorial Cartooning Award, having twice over been taken to court for cartoons deemed insulting by President Erdoğan.  His work is often critical of Erdoğan’s increasingly authoritarian regime, but also of Fethullah Gülen, the alleged leader of last summer’s attempted coup, and of terrorism and extremism in Turkey overall.  The substance of his work belies the government’s contention that he’s a Gülen Movement or PKK stooge.

 

In a 2004 cartoon published in Cumhuriyet, Kart depicts Fethulla Gülen as having infiltrated the Turkish military after the 1980 coup d’état – “Date 12 September 1980 – We have found ideal/suitable ground to climb up!” – Kart is accused by the current regime of supporting Gülen.

CRNI leadership responds:

“It is with the growing alarm that we read about the indictment just released against the Cumhuriyet journalists, including our friend, colleague and excellent cartoonist Musa Kart.

We absolutely condemn this embarrassing effort on the part of the Turkish government to further disappoint its own people. This indictment should be quashed and put on a shelf to gather dust. It is not worthy of the people of Turkey.

Every freedom loving country in the world should watch events in Turkey with care and see how an apparent slide into tyranny has continued step-by-step over time with apparent ease and impunity. This can happen in any country when freedom of speech, especially investigative and critical journalism, is throttled and the court system’s independence is eliminated.

We call on President Erdoğan to remember his early years when so many people in Turkey had such great hopes and faith in their own future. Membership in the European Union was making steady and effective progress, and all the world was watching with such anticipation.

We send our deepest level of support to these brave journalists, especially to Mr. Kart and his devoted and patient family who suffer along with their missing husband, father and grandfather.”

Dr. Robert Russell
Executive Director

 To Report a Cartoonist in Danger  Email Cartoonists Rights Network International

Norway: cartoon exhibition attacked, cover-up alleged

CRNI has received word from Arifur Rahman, a Bangladeshi cartoonist now based in Norway and the publisher of ToonsMag, saying that pieces of his work were stolen from a public exhibition and that the local officials sought to cover up the incident.

ArtsFreedom have the story that has also been covered extensively by the Amta newpaper in Drøbak, where the incident took place.

According to Rahman an unidentified individual, apparently an asylum seeker, entered the exhibition venue on March 1st, tore down twenty-five cartoons and left with four, saying that the work was “blasphemous”. Rahman was not present at the time and did not hear about it until two days later. He further alleges that he was told not to report the incident as it would jeopardise the outcome of the attacker’s case for asylum in Norway.

The Amta paper too claims to have received notification from officials against reporting the story.  In an editorial that ran on March 9th they say:

“In today’s newspaper we try to correct the mistake we committed. This time, you get the whole story, although several have tried to stop both Amta and others from talking loudly about this. The newspaper is not looking for scapegoats. We wish that the municipality should learn from their mistakes.It is important to emphasize that this is done by a person and the event must not lead to judge refugees in general. We guess that this may have been the motive for why the municipal employees handled this matter in a reprehensible manner. They did not want to create xenophobia. We cannot tolerate to have a society where truth is absent and one glosses over to paint a picture that fits into how we want our society to be.”

In 2008 Rahman fled his home after a cartoon also deemed blasphemous led to six months’ imprisonment.  After resettling in Norway have has gone on to build an online publishing platform for international cartoonists as well as a major contest, this year themed around Freedom of Expression.

He is quoted as saying:

“I find the religiously motivated theft of my exhibition drawings as a hard blow to the heart. What’s next? Can I continue to be safe here in Drøbak when municipal employees allow the theft to happen without intervening? And why did it go two whole days before I received a phone call after what happened? And that only happened after I had called my friends here in town. [Local authorities] do not understand how I feel. I feel that the event is trivialized and that they ignore my concern. I feel that they care more about this man than about how I feel. It seems as if they are trying to put a lid on the case. They discourage me to report the incident for the sake of their future in this country. Another argument is that it will affect people’s views on all new refugees in the municipality.”

Rahman’s cartoon about the attack on his exhibition, published in the Drøbak local paper.

CRNI’s executive director responds to news of this incident:

“For this to happen in Drøbak is highly disturbing as it is the Safe Haven City for cartoonists in trouble in the ICORN network.

It’s nearly a month later and only recently has the newspaper admitted their mistake in not reporting it. If the municipality’s reluctance to have it reported was because they wanted to protect the attacking refugee’s status, I would warn them to watch this refugee carefully for any violent actions he may take in the future once his refugee status is approved. Had the incident been reported to the proper authorities either by the municipality or the newspaper I’m sure the refugee would’ve found his way back to his home country, and possibly prevent a more violent and horrible situation in Norway sometime in the future.

I am deeply disturbed by this situation, very disturbed that municipal authorities would ignore it, and we are disappointed at the possibly of Drøbak being reconsidered as a safe haven city. Incidents like this can happen anywhere and Drøbak’s local authorities are probably not responsible for it happening, but they are certainly responsible for tolerating it and initiating a cover-up. This was an attack against the Norwegian people. If recent immigrants do not recognize their obligation to learn about and observe the local culture they have sought refuge in, then perhaps Norway is not the destination for them.”

Dr. Robert Russell
Executive Director, CRNI

 To Report a Cartoonist in Danger  Email Cartoonists Rights Network International

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CARTOONISTS RIGHTS
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