Fantastic news from Iran today: after nearly 18 months in prison for drawing a cartoon, Atena Farghadani has been released! Farghadani’s sentence had recently been reduced on appeal from the original 12 years and 9 months, but even her lawyer…
Tag: iran
Iranian Cartoonist Heidari Released from Prison
Just a few days after we got word that Atena Farghadani is set to be released from an Iranian prison next month, her countryman and fellow cartoonist Hadi Heidari has been freed after he was re-arrested on a previous charge…
BREAKING NEWS: Farghadani Set to be Released Next Month
After nearly 18 months in prison for a cartoon depicting politicians as animals, Iranian artist and activist Atena Farghadani will reportedly be released sometime next month. She had been sentenced to 12 years and 9 months, but according to her…
$600,000 Added to Bounty on Author Salman Rushdie
27 years after its release, Salman Rushdie’s book The Satanic Verses still incites outrage and controversy in Iran, with the recent addition of approximately $600,000 to the already $3.3 million bounty for the author’s death. To mark the 27 anniversary of the…
Atena Farghadani Explained in Pictures
Iranian artist and activist Atena Farghadani has now been in prison for over a year, currently awaiting an appeal of her nearly 13-year sentence for drawing a cartoon that showed members of Parliament as animals. Recently, New Zealand cartoonist Toby…
Italian Government Draws Ridicule for Covering Nude Statues During Iran Visit
After the Italian government covered up ancient nude statues ahead of a state visit from Iranian President Hassan Rouhani last week, cartoonists are having much fun at officials’ expense, but also leading a debate regarding freedom of expression on the…
“Cartooning Is the Art of Danger”
Exiled Iranian cartoonist Kianoush Ramezani took to the TED stage to not only talk about his work as an activist for free speech, but the explicit dangers cartoonists face when they do choose to speak out. Working in exile in…
Farghadani Acquitted on “Illegitimate Relations” Charge
Iranian cartoonist Atena Farghadani, currently serving a nearly 13-year prison sentence for caricaturing members of parliament as animals, has been spared even more prison time as she was recently acquitted of “non-adultery illegitimate relations.” That charge was brought after she…
Another Cartoonist Arrested in Iran
Iranian authorities arrested another cartoonist this week, allegedly to make him serve out a previous sentence imposed two years ago because the state “had a different interpretation of his cartoons than he had,” according to his lawyer. Hadi Heidari previously…
Farghadani Subjected to Virginity Test in Investigation of “Illegitimate Relations”
Iranian cartoonist Atena Farghadani, currently serving a nearly 13-year prison sentence for caricaturing members of parliament as animals, last week faced trial on the further charge of “non-adultery illegitimate relations” for shaking the hand of her lawyer, Mohammad Moghimi. Moreover,…