When Syria’s civil war began in 2011 as an outgrowth of the Arab Spring uprisings that swept the region, many citizens were initially optimistic about the outcome, seeing a chance to overthrow the brutal Assad regime. Instead, the instability in…
Category: International
Zunar in U.S. to Receive CPJ International Press Freedom Award
With his future hinging on a legal challenge to Malaysia’s Sedition Act, cartoonist Zunar is currently in the United States to accept an International Press Freedom Award from the Committee to Protect Journalists tonight. Last week he and the other…
Algeria’s Tahar Djehiche Sentenced to Prison for Cartoon
In yet another chilling development for cartoonists’ freedom of expression worldwide, an Algerian appeals court this week convicted cartoonist Tahar Djehiche of insulting the country’s president and inciting mob violence via cartoon. He has appealed the verdict to the Supreme…
Comics Collector Donates Rare “Canadian Whites” to University
From Nelvana of the Northern Lights, a female crime-buster who predates Wonder Woman, to a Nazi-fighting man from the sea called Iron Man, Canada’s comics history is rich, vibrant, and has a flavor wholly its own. Former award-winning math professor…
Another Cartoonist Arrested in Iran
Iranian authorities arrested another cartoonist this week, allegedly to make him serve out a previous sentence imposed two years ago because the state “had a different interpretation of his cartoons than he had,” according to his lawyer. Hadi Heidari previously…
Palestinian Cartoonist Under Fire for Controversial Conflict Cartoons
Palestinian cartoonist Mohammad Sabaaneh has quickly garnered domestic and international attention for his unabashed depictions of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Despite accusations of inciting hatred with negative portrayals of Israelis and a five month sentence in an Israeli prison on charges…
World Cartoonists Respond to Paris Attacks
Since Friday night’s coordinated terrorist attacks in Paris that killed 129 people and injured 352, the international community has joined with France and its capital in demonstrations of mourning and solidarity. With much of the memorialization taking place on social…
Top Malaysian Court Finds No Justification for Ban on Zunar Books
Malaysia’s highest court this week upheld a lower court’s lifting of a ban on two cartoon books by Zunar, Perak Darul Kartun and 1 Funny Malaysia. The five-judge panel of the Federal Court ruled that the Home Ministry had shown…
Russia Charges Librarian with “Inciting Ethnic Hatred” Through Books
Tensions between Russia and Ukraine manifested in particularly chilling fashion last month, as the director of a Ukrainian-language library in Moscow was detained by Russian authorities and charged with “inciting ethnic hatred” through books in the library’s collection. If convicted,…
Egyptian Novelist Sent to Court for Racy Excerpt
Egyptian writer Ahmed Naji faces up to two years in prison and a fine of 10,000 Egyptian pounds (approximately $1,245) for the publication of an excerpt of his novel The Use of Life, which an Egyptian prosecutor considers too racy…