Kenya’s Film Classification Board this month banned a total of six animated cartoons, including Adventure Time and Steven Universe, from airing within the country because they were judged to be “pro-gay.” In a statement defending its action, the KFCB claimed…
Category: International
CBLDF Joins Statement Against Revived Immigration Ban
Back in February shortly after the initial rollout of the immigration ban affecting nationals of seven majority-Muslim countries, CBLDF joined with more than thirty other cultural and human rights organizations to condemn the ban’s impact on artistic freedom, collaboration, and…
Daughter of Detained Bookseller Asks Foreign Governments to Pressure China
The daughter of Hong Kong bookseller Gui Minhai, who has been held in an undisclosed location on the Chinese mainland since October 2015 on suspicion of trafficking in banned books, pleaded once again this week for the governments of Sweden…
Comic Explains Lebanon’s Censorship Problem
A new comic on The Nib provides an illustrated look into the censorship problem in Lebanon. The comic by Ghadi Ghosn and Virginie Le Borgne examines how censorship impacts the country’s vibrant arts community. The comic points out that certain…
A Parthenon of Banned Books
The centerpiece of a new art exhibit in Germany is a life-size replica of the Greek Parthenon made up entirely of banned books. Part of the documenta 14 contemporary art exhibition, the piece was created by Argentine artist Marta Minujin to…
Report Highlights Cartoonists Under Threat Worldwide
Two years after the attack on Charlie Hebdo staff, the world’s free expression focus has largely shifted away from cartoonists. That certainly does not mean the danger has disappeared, however, as a recent 30-page report from the French nonprofit Cartooning…
Awards & Nominations Pile Up for Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye
Singapore’s government may not have appreciated Sonny Liew’s graphic history The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye, but everyone else certainly does! Despite losing a promised National Arts Council publishing grant due to “sensitive content” just before the book’s initial…
Moscow Librarian Receives Four-Year Suspended Sentence for ‘Extremist’ Literature
Natalya Sharina, the former director of Moscow’s Library of Ukrainian Literature who has been under house arrest since her home and library were raided by police in October 2015, has been convicted of “inciting hatred against Russians” and given a…
Russian Prosecutors Seek Suspended Sentence for Library Director
Russian prosecutors are seeking a 5-year suspended sentence for Natalya Sharina, the former director of Moscow’s Ukrainian Literature Library who stands accused of embezzlement and “inciting racial hatred.” Russian law prohibits the “‘mass dissemination’ of materials that the government designates ‘extremist’” and the country…
Lowlights from Comics Censorship History
Since the advent of the comics format, censors around the world have found varied and often illuminating reasons to suppress certain books or content. Whether government-sponsored or industry-directed, as with the Comics Code Authority in the United States, censorship naturally…