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.…
Category: International
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…
Japanese Artist Rokudenashiko: “My Body is Not an Obscenity”
Japanese cartoonist Rokudenashiko recently celebrated the release of her new book What is Obscenity? The Story of a Good For Nothing Artist and her Pussy by challenging claims by the Japanese government that her art, and subsequently her body, is obscene. In…
How Czech Underground Comic Art Beat Communism
An art display at the Batalion Bar and Museum in Prague is celebrating underground comic artist Kaja Saudek and tells the tale of his first-hand experiences with censorship in the 1960s and ultimate triumph over a Cold War communist government…
Organizations Urge U.N. To Take Action Against Free Speech Violations in Turkey
Several free speech organizations recently submitted a formal statement to the U.N. Human Rights Council, calling for action to be taken to fix the “major deterioration” of free expression in Turkey. Earlier this month groups like the Committee to Protect…