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…
UPDATED: Michigan Superintendent Notifies Parents of Gay Character in Captain Underpants Book
A few weeks after the Parent-Teacher Organization at an elementary school in Monroe, Michigan banned the latest Captain Underpants book from a school book fair because it reveals that one of the main characters is gay, a school district on…
San Francisco Artist Takes Matters Into His Own Hands After Being Censored
San Francisco, California, artist and SF State associate professor Victor De La Rosa took matters into his own hands by hanging four woven tapestries at a Mission District station after Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) stalled for months to do…