In light of the fact that she recently spent 18 months in prison for drawing a caricature of the Iranian Parliament, Atena Farghadani could be forgiven for taking a bit of a professional break to savor her newfound freedom. Instead,…
Category: International
French Government Investigating New Death Threats Against Charlie Hebdo
French government prosecutors opened an investigation last week into new credible death threats against surviving members of the staff at Charlie Hebdo, an anonymous source told Le Parisien newspaper yesterday. The threats came by mail and on the magazine’s Facebook page…
Thai Cartoonist “Invited” to Explain Himself to Government Commission
A Thai political cartoonist and his editor at a weekly news magazine have been summoned to meet with government election commissioners this week and explain a cartoon that mocked a previous draft of Thailand’s nascent constitution. Even though the cartoon…
Exiled Somali Cartoonist’s Design Featured on German Stamp for Refugees
Eight years ago, Somali cartoonist and journalist Abduallahi Muhiaddin, who uses the pen name Abdul Arts, was forced to flee his home country under threat from militant group Al-Shabaab, which did not appreciate how it was depicted in his cartoons.…
Sedition Laws a Legacy of Colonialism Worldwide
For many Americans, the criminal offense of sedition–that is, criticism of the government–probably conjures up the notorious but short-lived Sedition Act of 1798, which played an important role in the election of 1800 but was allowed to expire the following…
Hong Kong Bookseller Speaking Out on Eight-Month Detention in China
Four of the five Hong Kong booksellers who mysteriously disappeared late last year and were presumed to be in the custody of mainland Chinese authorities have returned to the semi-autonomous region, but only one is speaking openly what happened to…
Free Speech in a Connected World
In a recent sit-down with Index on Censorship, Timothy Garton Ash, author and professor of European Studies at Oxford University, talked about his new book Free Speech: Ten Principles for a Connected World and the increasing need for freedom of expression…
Orijit Sen Pushes Indian Graphic Novels Forward
Indian graphic novelist Orijit Sen first came to our attention late last year, when his illustration “The Punjaban” was repeatedly removed from Facebook because it showed a partially nude woman, despite the social media giant’s claim that it allows artistic…
Indian Cartoonist Censored in City-Wide Clean-Up
Under the pretense of a city-wide beautification effort, Indian political cartoonist Satish Acharya has had one of his recent cartoons removed from a public display in Kundapura. Acharya is a self-taught cartoonist who tackles a variety of topics, including political…
Lesbian Flirtation Edited Out of Steven Universe in Sweden
Over 1,300 Swedish fans of the Cartoon Network show Steven Universe have signed a petition objecting to dialogue changes in the Swedish-language version of a recent episode that effaced a same-sex flirtation between the characters Ruby and Sapphire. The network acknowledges…