In recognition of their respective fights against censorship and repressive governments, political cartoonists Zunar and Gado have been jointly awarded the biennial International Editorial Cartoons Prize from the organization Cartooning for Peace. In conjunction with the prize, their work and…
Category: International
New Wave of Cartoonists Fight for Free Speech in the Middle East
“A new golden age of cartoonists.” This is how Huffington Post contributor Merissa Khurma describes the explosive growth of artistic talent coming out of Middle East in a recent article. Empowered by the pen, Khurma writes how cartoonists like Sudanese…
U.S. State Department No Fan of Manga and Anime
The U.S. Department of State recently joined the United Nations in suggesting that Japan should restrict certain types of manga and anime, condemning what it calls “unfettered availability of sexually explicit cartoons, comics, and video games, some of which depicted…
ATENA FREE!
Fantastic news from Iran today: after nearly 18 months in prison for drawing a cartoon, Atena Farghadani has been released! Farghadani’s sentence had recently been reduced on appeal from the original 12 years and 9 months, but even her lawyer…
Turkish Journalists Sentenced to Two Years for Reprinting Charlie Hebdo Cover
Two Turkish journalists were sentenced to two years in prison last week for republishing the post-attack Charlie Hebdo cover that depicted the Prophet Mohammed. Hikmet Cetinkaya and Ceyda Karan, both columnists for the Turkish opposition newspaper Cumhuriyet, are appealing their…
Comic Created in WWII Safehouse Finally Published Decades Later
While hiding in a Dutch attic for more than two years during World War II, Emmanuel Joels passed the time creating a comic week by week and sending it to his girlfriend Hetty van Son, also hiding just a few…
Egyptian Parliament Outraged by Puppet’s Insults
Shortly after Egypt’s judiciary allowed the satirical puppet Abla Fahita to be charged with “violating public morality,” she has now drawn the ire of Parliament as well by referring to its members as “impaired.” Some lawmakers are pressing for her…
Pakistan’s First Professional Female Cartoonist on the Impact of Cartoons
Sometimes the most poignant cartoons are those that subtly disclose social issues by depicting the everyday life of the common man and woman. That is the approach Nigar Nazar, Pakistan’s first professional female cartoonist, takes with her immensely popular and beloved…
Dutch Journalist Arrested For Calling Turkish President “The Most Megalomaniac Dictator”
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s attempts to censor journalists and cartoonists doesn’t extend just to Turkish citizens: When she tried to leave Turkey this past Sunday, Dutch journalist Ebru Umar was arrested and brought before a judge for tweets she posted about President…
Iranian Cartoonist Heidari Released from Prison
Just a few days after we got word that Atena Farghadani is set to be released from an Iranian prison next month, her countryman and fellow cartoonist Hadi Heidari has been freed after he was re-arrested on a previous charge…