Six years after Syria’s uprising began, the future of the country is far from certain. But one surprising result of the turbulence is already apparent: an abrupt flowering of cartoons, comic magazines, and animated shorts spreading mostly through rebel-held areas…
Tag: political cartoons
Musa Kart Indicted After Lengthy Detention, Could Face 29 Years in Prison
Five months after Turkish political cartoonist Musa Kart was arrested along with several of his colleagues from Cumhuriyet newspaper on suspicion of supporting Kurdish militants and the Gulenist movement, they finally were formally indicted this week. If convicted, Kart could…
Egyptian Cartoonist Featured in New Documentary
The new documentary Tickling Giants puts the spotlight on the important role of satire and humor in political dissent–in this case, Egyptian heart surgeon-turned-comedian Bassem Youssef, who launched a Daily Show-inspired TV program in the midst of the Arab Spring…
BBC’s 100 Women Includes Barrier-Breaking Middle Eastern Cartoonists
Every year, the BBC puts the spotlight on influential women around the world for its 100 Women series. For 2016, the list includes three Middle Eastern cartoonists fighting for women’s rights and freedom of expression: Doaa Eladl in Egypt, Riham Elhour…
Jordanian Writer Charged With Blasphemy for Sharing Cartoon
A Jordanian writer turned himself in over the weekend to face charges of insulting Islam with a cartoon that he shared on Facebook intending to mock the worldview of ISIS fighters. Nahed Hattar, a controversial left-wing Christian columnist and staunch…
After Ban and Media Crackdown, Turkish Magazine Fears Attack
The Turkish government’s media crackdown continues this week, thinly justified as a “cleansing” after the failed coup attempt of July 15-16. In the past few days, more than 130 press outlets have been shut down and arrest warrants issued for…
Turkish Leman Censored in Post-Coup Crackdown
The already dire situation for freedom of expression and other basic human rights in Turkey has sharply worsened since last week’s failed military coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s government. In just the past few days, 10,000 people have been…
Turkish Journalist Questioned for Sharing Cartoon Online
In just the latest in a string of media clampdowns in Turkey, last week a reporter for Dicle News Agency was detained and questioned at a police checkpoint and for allegedly insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan with a cartoon shared…
Farghadani Strikes Back with New Cartoon
In light of the fact that she recently spent 18 months in prison for drawing a caricature of the Iranian Parliament, Atena Farghadani could be forgiven for taking a bit of a professional break to savor her newfound freedom. Instead,…
French Government Investigating New Death Threats Against Charlie Hebdo
French government prosecutors opened an investigation last week into new credible death threats against surviving members of the staff at Charlie Hebdo, an anonymous source told Le Parisien newspaper yesterday. The threats came by mail and on the magazine’s Facebook page…