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…
Tag: political cartoonist
Bulgarian TV Network Drops Cartoonist Who Mocked Prime Minister
Bulgarians are accusing the privately-owned TV network NOVA of bowing to government pressure last week when it removed all of cartoonist Chavdar Nikolov’s work from its website. Nikolov’s latest animated political cartoon had mocked Prime Minister Boyko Borisov’s apparent support…
Kanika Mishra: Social Media as a Vehicle for Free Speech and Empowerment
Known for her cartoons on social and political issues in India—especially those that relate to Indian women—cartoonist Kanika Mishra has gained significant recognition for her use of social media as a vehicle for freedom of expression. Earlier this year, Mishra…
Indian Cartoonist Latest Victim of Facebook’s Content Policy
A cartoon by Kanika Mishra, drawn in response to a controversial statement made by Indian Minister Maneka Gandhi about the inability to criminalize marital rape, has been pulled from Facebook for not adhering to “community standards.” The award-winning cartoonist has…
Tunisian Newspaper Nixes Comic Critical of U.S. Influence
The state-owned Tunisian newspaper La Presse last week rejected a cartoon that criticized the U.S. government’s involvement in Tunisian domestic affairs. According to cartoonist Lotfi Ben Sassi, someone at the newspaper said the strip he submitted for last Sunday’s paper…
Zunar Sedition Trial Delayed Yet Again to April 7
The sedition trial of Malaysian cartoonist Zunar has been delayed yet again to April 7, he reported via Twitter this week. After multiple delays while a separate challenge to the country’s Sedition Act is pending, the trial had been set…
Kashmiri Cartoonist Back on Facebook After Temporary Block
Facebook again waded into complex international politics last week when it temporarily blocked a Kashmiri cartoonist’s work commenting on the Indian government’s 2013 execution of Mohammad Afzal Guru, who was convicted as an accessory to a 2001 terrorist attack on…
Indian Cartoonist Keeps Drawing Despite Death Threats
Three years after she first sparred with a popular guru and his rabid followers, Indian cartoonist Kanika Mishra was recently profiled on the Humans of Bombay Facebook page, sharing more about her experience of living in fear after numerous death…
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…
Nadia Khiari Wins Free Expression Award at Angoulême Alternative Festival
This year’s Festival International de la Bande Dessinée in Angoulême, France, stirred up quite a bit of controversy in the comics community, but one FIBD story has largely flown under the radar. That would be the decision not to give out…