In a letter sent this week to Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, PEN America and more than 120 writers and artists from around the world demanded the release of novelist Ahmed Naji, currently sentenced to two years in prison for…
Category: International
Japanese “Vagina Kayak” Artist Fined for Distributing 3D Plans Online
A Japanese court yesterday imposed a fine of 400,000 yen (about $3,667) on artist Megumi Igarashi for distributing 3D plans of her own genitals via the Internet. The plans were among the premiums in her crowdfunding campaign, which raised money…
Tom and Jerry Blamed for Violence in the Middle East
A recent comment made by chairman of the Egyptian State Information Service, Ambassador Salah Abdel Sadek, blames the classic Hanna-Barbera cartoon Tom and Jerry for the alarming violence and extremism in the Middle East today. The cartoon, which was released…
Zunar and Gado Win Cartooning for Peace Prize
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…
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…