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…
Tag: prison
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…
Iranian Cartoonist Heidari Released from Prison
Just a few days after we got word that Atena Farghadani is set to be released from an Iranian prison next month, her countryman and fellow cartoonist Hadi Heidari has been freed after he was re-arrested on a previous charge…
BREAKING NEWS: Farghadani Set to be Released Next Month
After nearly 18 months in prison for a cartoon depicting politicians as animals, Iranian artist and activist Atena Farghadani will reportedly be released sometime next month. She had been sentenced to 12 years and 9 months, but according to her…
Turkish Comedian Faces 2 Years in Prison for Satirical Tweet
Turkish comedian, actor, and cartoonist Cem Yilmaz went to trial on Monday for a recent tweet “insulting” Governor Selim Cebiroglu. Facing up to two years in jail for expressing his upset over the governor’s verbal abuse of math teacher Halil…
Egyptians Speak Out for Ahmed Naji and Free Expression
Egyptian novelist Ahmed Naji remains in prison pending an appeal of his conviction for “violating public modesty” with an excerpt from his book Use of Life. A few brave government officials, including Minister of Culture Helmy al-Namnam, have spoken out…
Myanmar Activist Imprisoned for Mocking Military’s Masculinity
Myanmar political activitist Chaw Sandi Tun has been sentenced to a six-month prison term for posting a satirical cartoon that criticized the country’s military on Facebook. Tun — a former member of the Maubin District Students’ Union and active demonstrator…
Tokyo Prison Under Fire for Banning Gay Manga
The Tokyo Bar Association issued a sexual orientation discrimination warning to the Tokyo Detention House earlier this week when it was found out that they had been explicitly refusing an inmate access to manga which depicts homosexual sex acts —…
Farghadani Subjected to Virginity Test in Investigation of “Illegitimate Relations”
Iranian cartoonist Atena Farghadani, currently serving a nearly 13-year prison sentence for caricaturing members of parliament as animals, last week faced trial on the further charge of “non-adultery illegitimate relations” for shaking the hand of her lawyer, Mohammad Moghimi. Moreover,…