Recent Developments

May 9, 2012, Burke, Virginia - Today Dr. Robert Russell, the Executive Director of the Cartoonists Rights Network International (CRNI), announced the winners of the 2012 Courage in Editorial Cartooning Award as decided by a unanimous vote of the CRNI Board of Directors. The winners are Ali Ferzat, from Syria, and Aseem Trivedi, from India. CRNI, the only international organization exclusively devoted to defending the human rights of cartoonists imperiled because of their work, will hold the award ceremony during the annual convention of the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists (AAEC) on September 15. The ceremony is currently scheduled to take place at George Washington University’s Jack Morton Auditorium in Washington, DC.

On May 2, 2012, Denmark’s Supreme Court, the highest court in the country, upheld the conviction of Mohamed Geele.  On January 1, 2010, the 30-year-old Somali man broke into the home of cartoonist Kurt Westergaard with an axe and a knife yelling, “You must die!  You are going to hell!”  Convicted of terrorism, Mohamed Geele will serve ten years before being permanently expelled from Denmark.

Parents, do you know what your kids are getting into when they go online?  A sad and shocking verdict out of Philadelphia from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania makes a strong case that you better.  On Friday May 4, 2012, 18-year-old Mohammad Hassan Khalid pled guilty to conspiring to provide material support to terrorists – support he provided long before he turned eighteen.  Born in Pakistan and raised in Maryland, Mohammad was an honors student who had earned a scholarship to Johns Hopkins University.  Instead of a future of promise and opportunity, Mohammad faces a sentence of up to fifteen years and fine of up to $250,000.  He also faces the possibility of deportation after his sentence is served.

Nearly twenty years ago, the United Nations formally recognized just how indispensable an independent and vibrant press is to the rights of each and every one of us by declaring May 3rd World Press Freedom Day.  For me, the co-Founder and Executive Director of the Cartoonists Rights Network International, this day will always hold great significance.  Just over twenty years ago I began to recognize the importance, and the vulnerability, of one particularly conspicuous member of the press – the editorial cartoonist.  A friend, the late Sri Lankan cartoonist Jiffry Yoonoos, opened my eyes by daring to expose his government’s war crimes even after he was brutally beaten and stabbed at his home in front of his wife and kids.

At a cartooning workshop in Sousse, Tunisia, participants from Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan and Syria compared how cartoons and wall graffiti were influential in the Arab Spring.  At the gathering of 16 cartoonists, activists and the experts, the events of the year after the "Arab Spring" were highlighted in both discussion and cartoon drawing.  The workshop was organized on 28 and 29 May 2012 by the International Freedom of Expression Exchange Tunisia Monitoring Group (IFEX-TMG), in cooperation with Cartoonists Rights Network International (CRNI) with support from the Tunisian Centre for Freedom of the Press (CTPJ).

The question is often posed to representatives of our organization, "Are there any cartoons so vile that you would not offer your support to the creator or creators of the work?"  Our response is that, in accordance with our Mission Statement, we will not offer support to the creator or creators of a cartoon advocating hate or violence.  Exactly where a strong critique of a politician or policy ends and where a hate-filled call to violence begins, can occasionally be a difficult line to draw.  There is no such difficulty when it comes to North Korea's latest anti-Lee Myung-bak cartoons.  The cartoons, which were released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in the last week of April 2012, depict the South Korean President as a rat being butchered in a variety of gruesome ways. The cartoons include slogans calling for the President's eradication.  The slogan on the above cartoon for instance reads, "Let's rip apart the rat Lee Myung-bak!"        

The news agency Reuters is reporting that tomorrow, April 13, 2012, three Swedish citizens and one Tunisian national will go to trial as scheduled for allegedly plotting to attack the offices of Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten.  Reuters is also reporting that the identities of the four previously unnamed defendants have been released.  The four men are “[44-year-old] Mounir Ben Mohamed Dhahri, a Tunisian citizen, [29-year-old] Munir Awad a Swedish citizen born in Lebanon, [30-year-old] Omar Abdalla Aboelazm, a Swedish citizen born in Sweden to a Swedish mother and Egyptian father, and [37-year-old] Sahbi Ben Mohamed Zalouti, a Swedish citizen of Tunisian origin.”  Meanwhile, the Swedish English language newspaper the National is reporting that the “names of the judges and courts that have played a key role” in the case have been classified.

On March 23rd, exiled Iranian cartoonist and CRNI 2011 Courage Award recipient, Mana Neyestani posted a cartoon on his Facebook page that was inspired, and quickly adopted, by a new and almost instantly popular online peace movement.  Created just five days after Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called Israel a “cancerous tumor” and just four days after the Israeli government issued a warning about Iran’s nuclear program, Mana’s cartoon – simply titled No War! – has struck a chord with thousands of Israelis and Iranians seeking a peaceful resolution to the rising tensions.  No War! has gone viral, generating more than 7,000 hits.
 

On Friday February 24, 2012, family, friends and colleagues gathered to remember Jerry Robinson, cartoonist, comic book superhero and supervillian creator, creators’ rights activist, editorial cartoonist, historian, curator, teacher, businessman, human rights activist and devoted family man.  Jerry passed away December 7, 2011.  The memorial, hosted at the Time Life Building in New York City by DC Entertainment, was ably MCd by Jerry’s son Jens, editor of CartoonArts International. 

On March 22, 2012, Turkey's European Union Minister Egemen Bağış posted on his Twitter account a cartoon poking fun of him.  The cartoon by Erdil Yaşaroğlu appeared on the cover of the weekly comic magazine Penguen.  Both the minister's name and the name of the magazine should sound familar to supporters of free speech.    

On March 19, 2012, freelance editorial cartoonist Gary McCoy was interviewed over the telephone by Deputy Director Drew Rougier-Chapman of the Cartoonists Rights Network International (CRNI).  Prior to the interview, Drew and Robert "Bro" Russell, the Executive Director of CRNI, spoke at length with Gary after learning that Gary had received a threatening email.   

The Associated Press reported that on March 2, 2012, Danish prosecutors charged four Swedish men with terrorism for allegedly planning a shooting attack on the Copenhagen offices of the newspaper Jyllands-Posten.   Sven Ulrik Larsen, Denmark's top prosecutor, said the group traveled to Copenhagen with arms and ammunition, including a submachine gun and a handgun, to kill "a large number of people."  The men, whose names have been withheld by court order, are scheduled to go to trial beginning April 13, 2012.

Cartoon by Damien Glez

The Moroccan regime’s recent reactions to one dated cartoon have twice proven that the reforms to the Moroccan constitution enacted in response to last summer’s protests have not yet secured the hoped-for progress on free speech.   Disseminating even mild criticism of the King is still a serious, punishable offense.  First published by the French paper Le Monde in 2009, the above cartoon by Burkina Faso-based professional cartoonist Damien Glez has sparked two unwarranted recent reactions from authorities in Morocco. 

Time is running out to nominate a cartoonist for the 2012 Award for Courage in Editorial Cartooning! Nominations will be accepted up until midnight EST February 29, 2012. 

On January 11, 2012, CRNI interviewed Indian cartoonist Aseem Trivedi.  At that time Aseem’s website, Cartoons Against Corruption, had recently been suspended after a lawyer, Rajendra Pratap Pandey, made a complaint to the Mumbai Police, which the Mumbai Police passed on to the website’s domain name registrar, Indian based company Big Rock.  In the complaint Mr. Pandey objected to some of Aseem’s anti-corruption cartoons which were featured on the website.  Mr. Pandey also objected to these cartoons being displayed as posters at a peaceful protest led by anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare.  In an interview titled Cartoonist Faces Ban on Right to Poke Fun with India Real Time, Mr. Pandey made the claim that Mr. Trivedi has the right to ridicule individual politicians but that he does not have the right to ridicule the Indian Parliament, the national emblem or the national flag.  Since our interview and after he posted his anti-corruption cartoons on a new website, Aseem was charged with treason and insulting the national emblem in the Beed District Court in Maharashtra.  The Cartoonists Rights Network International urges the authorities in the world’s largest democracy to stand up for free speech and put an end to all the attempts to silence Aseem’s political speech.  Dr. Robert Russell, Executive Director of CRNI, commented, "Aseem’s enemies either don’t know how to interpret symbols in editorial cartoons or are knowingly twisting the law to silence dissent in order to shield corrupt officials."

On January 23, 2012, at 9 pm, EST, Dr. Robert “Bro” Russell, the Executive Director of Cartoonists Rights Network interviewed Sandya Eknaligoda, the wife of missing Sri Lankan journalist and cartoonist Prageeth Eknaligoda.  For Sandya the interview took place at 7:30 am Sri Lankan time, on January 24th, the second anniversary of the day her husband disappeared.  It is presumed that Prageeth was kidnapped for his work investigating and criticizing the Sri Lankan government of President Rajapaksa.

The Associated Press and the Washington Post are reporting that a Swedish criminal court has acquitted the three men accused of plotting to murder Swedish cartoonist Lars Vilks.  The three men who were armed with knives outside an art gallery shortly before the cartoonist was to make a rare public appearance, were acquitted on Friday by the Goteborg District Court.  The cartoonist has been in hiding after receiving numerous death threats.

Cartoon by Luz for Charlie Hebdo magazine.

On December 22, 2011, CRNI Deputy Director Drew Rougier-Chapman interviewed Stephane “Charb” Charbonnier, the Editor-in-Chief of Charlie Hebdo, the French satirical magazine that was firebombed at approximately 1:00 am on November 2, 2011.  The magazine’s offices were firebombed and its website was hacked apparently by Islamic extremists angered by a then upcoming issue to poke fun of Sharia law.  The attack did not prevent publication of the issue and fortunately no one was hurt in the attack.  Unfortunately this violent crime remains unsolved.  In the interview, which was superbly translated by Delphine Halgand, the DC Director of Reporters Without Borders, Charb describes how his staff has responded with their characteristic bravery and irreverence.

Skype photograph by Drew Rougier-Chapman

On December 2, 2011, CRNI Director Robert "Bro" Russell had a Skype exchange with Turkish cartoonist Bahadir Baruter.  Bahadir faces up to one year in prison for drawing a cartoon that appeared in the Turkish humor magazine Penguen.  The cartoon depicts a man praying in a mosque.  Hidden in the background of the cartoon on a wall is a scribble that says, "There is no Allah" and "Religion is a lie."  Bahadir, who has been charged with "insulting the religious values adopted by a part of the population," had his first court hearing on this charge on September 28, 2011.  His trial is scheduled for March 29, 2012.  This is one of only a few interviews Bahadir has given since being charged.  He does though plan to speak with a number of international media outlets and human rights organizations, including CRNI, in the weeks leading up to his trial date.      

Photograph by Elijah Nouvelage

As the Occupy movement has spread from Wall Street to a number of American cities, so has the detaining and arresting of journalists reporting on the protests.  This trend (which is well documented by the Committee to Protect Journalists in their November 11, 2011, article At Occupy protests, U.S. journalists arrested, assaulted) is a disturbing new threat to the First Amendment rights of journalists.  On November 3, 2011, we were informed that editorial cartoonist and reporter Susie Cagle was arrested in Oakland while reporting on the Occupy Oakland movement.  She was detained for approximately fifteen hours, cited with failure to leave the scene of a riot, and otherwise treated as a law breaking demonstrator and not as a journalist during her job.  That charge is still pending against her despite the fact that Ms. Cagle has made extraordinary attempts to identify herself as a member of the press to the Oakland Police Department (OPD).  Before the protests began she frequently phoned and emailed the OPD's Public Information Officer seeking an OPD press badge.  At the time of her arrest she openly and prominently displayed her employer issued press badge while verbally informing the arresting officer of her status as a member of the press.  To date the Oakland Police Department and the Oakland District Attorney's office has yet to dismiss the charge even though the OPD has since granted Ms. Cagle an OPD press badge and thus acknowledged Ms. Cagle's status as a journalist.

Cartoon by CRNI Affiliate Leader Kianoush Ramezani condemning the attack on the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo

The BBC, The New York Times and a number of French papers (among many others) report this morning of a firebombing attack on the offices of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris.  The magazine issue in question was going to feature a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed on the cover and a satirical editorial penned by the Prophet Mohammed.  The issue in question had not even been published nor distributed.  The public had not yet seen the cartoon that the magazine was about to publish.  As the Editor-in-Chief of Charlie Hebdo, Stephane Charbonnier, explained in an interview with the BBC, the extremists took their action based on rumors.

On September 15, 2011, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak pledged on national television to repeal the Internal Security Act of 1960 (ISA), and, to institute an official review of the Restricted Residence Act of 1993 (RRA) and the Printing Presses and Publications Act of 1984 (PPPA).  Is the announcement by Prime Minister Razak a sincere step towards reform or an insincere election year promise?  Cartoonist Zulkiflee Anwar Ulhaque, aka Zunar, in his work and in a written statement to CRNI says the Prime Minister's pledge is "just a lip service and PR exercise" in the run-up to likely November elections.

Cartoonists Rights Network International thanks all the volunteers who donated their time and efforts, all the talented cartoonists who donated their artwork, and all the fans of cartoons who championed our local youth and everyone's free speech rights.  Thank you so much making the 2011 Cartoons & Cocktails Charity Auction a fun and successful event.     

The 24th Annual Cartoons & Cocktails Auction, the largest auction of editorial cartoons in the United States, will be held on October 20, 2011, from 6 PM to 9 PM at the Newseum in Washington, DC.  This is will be your chance to bid on and buy original artwork while benefitting two very worthy non-profit organizations: Cartoonists Rights Network International and Young D.C.       

According to Indian cartoonist Satish Acharya, shortly after he posted on his blog a cartoon poking fun of Nationalist Congress Party Chief Sharad Pawar and many days after the cartoon appeared in the September 5th edition of the newspaper Mid Day, Senior Police Inspector Mukund Pawar of the Cyber Branch of the Mumbai Police, citing a criminal provision, asked Satish to remove the cartoon from his personal blog.    

Anwar al-Awlaki, a cleric and senior al Qeada leader, and Samir Khan, the co-editor of the English language al Qaeda magazine Inspire, were killed early September 29, 2011, by a joint CIA-United States military drone strike in the Yemeni town of Khashef.  At a ceremony at Fort Myer in Arlington, Virginia, President Obama confirmed the targeting of the two American born al Qaeda militants.

The English language newspaper the Hurriyet Daily News reported on Wednesday, September 28, 2011, that Turkish cartoonist Bahadir Baruter "will be put on trial for a caricature he drew in which he renounced god."

Indian cartoonist Harish Yadav, better known by his pen name Mussaveer, was arrested at his home in Malharganj on September 27, 2011, for insulting the religious beliefs of Muslims, and then released the following day on bail.  Mussaveer was arrested for a cartoon poking fun of Chief Minister Narendra Modi's refusal to wear a skull cap presented to him by a Muslim cleric.  Mussaveer was arrested under Section 295-A of the Indian Penal Code which prohibits the "deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs."    

On September 26, 2011, Dr. Robert "Bro" Russell, our Executive Director, at the invitation of the International Press Institute (IPI), led a panel discussion in Taipei, Taiwan at the IPI's 2011 World Congress.  Titled "Innovations in Political Cartooning - How Editorial Cartoonists Are Reinventing Themselves and Promoting Press Freedom," the panel discussion included presentations by The Economist cartoonist Kevin "Kal" Kallaugher, animation entrepreneur Michael Logan with Taipei based company Next Media, and, South African cartoonist Jonathan Shapiro, who goes by the pen name Zapiro. 

Three men accused of plotting to kill Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaard and to attack an office of the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, were charged in Norway on September 26, 2011, with, "conspiracy to commit a terrorist attack in northern Europe," said Prosecutor Geir Evanger.  Mikael Davud, a Norwegian of Uighur origin, Shawan Sadek Saeed Bujak, an Iraqi Kurd residing in Norway, and David Jakobsen, an Uzbek also residing in Norway allegedly plotted to kill Westergaard and to bomb an office of Jyllands-Posten.  Arrested in June of 2010, the three men are scheduled to stand trial in late October. 

Cartoonist Rights Network International condemns in the strongest possible terms the vicious attack against Syrian cartoonist Ali Ferzat.  Early in the morning of August 25, 2011, the sixty-year-old cartoonist was dragged from his car by four heavily armed thugs and severely beaten.  Before the thugs finished their assault, they said, "This is just a warning.  We will break your hands so that you'll stop drawing."  They then  severely injured both hands and broke his drawing hand.  This is a disturbing addition to the kinds of brutality the Assad regime is employing against media professionals who are trying to keep the public informed on the important issues of the day.   Ferzat is currently in a Syrian hospital with heavily bandaged hands and with stitches over one eye. 

Earlier this week an Iranian Press Court sentenced cartoonist Mahmud Shokraieh (also spelled Mahmoud Shokraye) to twenty-five lashes.  Mahmud's local parliamentarian Ahmad Lotfi Ashtiani was offended by a caricature of him that appeared in the newspaper Nameye Amir.  Ashtiani sought charges against Mahmud and his publisher.  The publisher was spared the lash.  Mahmud, who has not yet sought an appeal of the conviction, will soon receive this cruel punishment -- unless a public outcry can be brought to bear.