Category: International

Malaysian Human Rights Group Supports Zunar

Following yesterday’s news that Malaysian political cartoonist Zunar and several business associates are again under investigation by government authorities for sedition, the human rights organization Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM) today issued a statement demanding an end to the “unrelenting harassment…

Zunar Assistants Arrested for Selling Cartoon Books

Zunar cartoon

Just over a month after a Malaysian appeals court lifted a ban on two of political cartoonist Zunar’s books, the artist and his employees are again facing harassment and intimidation from police. As the sensational trial of an opposition leader…

Turkish Cartoonist Acquitted of Insulting President

Musa Kart cartoon

Turkish political cartoonist Musa Kart was recently acquitted of insulting his country’s president and former prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan via cartoon, but Kart says the repression of journalists in Turkey is only getting worse. In February of this year,…

UK Prosecution Spotlights Dangers For Manga Readers

Last week, we reported on a disturbing case in the UK, where Robul Hoque, a 39-year-old UK citizen was convicted of possession of child pornography as a result of owning manga-style images and anime. On its face, a successful child pornography…

UK Man Pleads Guilty to Possessing Illegal Manga

A UK man last week pleaded guilty to 10 counts of possessing illegal manga and anime, a first since manga was added to the country’s child pornography laws in 2010. Robul Hoque of South Bank, Middlesbrough was sentenced to nine…

Malaysian Appeals Court Lifts Ban on Two Zunar Books

A Malaysian appeals court last week lifted a ban on two books by political cartoonist Zunar, who has been arrested and had his work seized by the government multiple times over the years. Although the unanimous ruling by three appeals…

Egyptian Cartoonists Choose Creative Freedom or Mainstream Distribution–Not Both

In the tumultuous years since Egyptians overthrew ex-dictator Hosni Mubarak, political cartoonists have continued to lampoon whichever government is in power–but sometimes they must find ways to be circumspect about it. An article from last week’s Sunday Observer took the…

Indonesian Regulators Attack Japanese Children’s Cartoon

Television regulators in Indonesia have demanded that broadcasters to censor certain aspects of the globally known children’s show Crayon Shin-chan. The show has been popular in Japan for more than two decades, and focuses on a a precocious child who…

Australian Supermarket Chain Takes Roald Dahl’s Revolting Rhymes Off Shelves

Australian supermarket chain Aldi has removed Roald Dahl’s Revolting Rhymes from its shelves. Revolting Rhymes, first published in 1982,is Dahl’s collection of poems, reimagining traditional fables through the author’s signature deranged humor. One of the stories in the book is…