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…
Category: International
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…
Chechen Prosecutor Trying to Block Charlie Hebdo Cartoons
Chechnya is trying to block online access to cartoons published by the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. The predominant religion in Chechnya is Islam, and Charlie Hebdo is a noted critic of fundamentalist belief in religion, frequently drawing criticism for…
Zunar Hopes to Outsmart Police with Next Book Launch
Malaysian political cartoonist Zunar, plagued by repeated police raids and seizures of his work, has struck upon an innovative solution to censorship: at the launch of his newest book Twit-Twit, Cin Cin this week, buyers will receive only a photocopy…
City of Warsaw Revokes Comics Festival Grant After Nationalists Object
The city of Warsaw, Poland has withdrawn a three-year grant supporting an annual comics festival after nationalist groups complained about the content of a comic that was distributed during the event earlier this month. The book Polska mistrzem Polski (Polish…
Index on Censorship Joins Banned Books Week Coalition
As a longtime member of the Banned Books Week Coalition, CBLDF is pleased to welcome our newest partner in the annual event: the UK’s Index on Censorship! As the first international member of the coalition, Index will host several events…
CRNI Asks European Leaders to Seek Justice for Imprisoned Turkish Journalists
Turkish cartoonist Musa Kart and several of his colleagues from Cumhuriyet newspaper have now spent over six months in prison, joining about 130 other journalists similarly detained in the media crackdown following Turkey’s attempted coup last July. In advance of…
Egyptian Court Vacates Ahmed Naji Conviction, Orders Retrial
An Egyptian court yesterday ordered a retrial for novelist Ahmed Naji, who spent 10 months in prison for “violating public modesty” with an excerpt from his book Use of Life which was reprinted in the state-owned Akhbar al-Adab newspaper. Naji…
Farghadani Gives Firsthand Account of Imprisonment for Cartoon
Just over a year ago, Iranian artist and activist Atena Farghadani was released from prison after 18 months. Her so-called crime: drawing Iranian MPs as apes and bovines while they debated a bill toban voluntary sterilization procedures such as vasectomies…