Tuesday, June 06, 2023
CARTOONISTS DEFEND OUR RIGHTS. WHO’S THERE FOR THEIRS?
https://cartoonistsrights.org/
DAMASCUS: Editorial
cartoonist Ali Farzat is abducted by armed and hooded men believed to be of the
mukhabarat – Syria’s security police. He is so severely beaten that his one eye
is damaged and his fingers and hands are broken “as a warning” against his
caricatures depicting President Bashar al-Assad and his regime as tyrants.
EQUATORIAL
GUINEA: Long form cartoonist ‘Jamón y Queso’ is arrested by police on
charges of counterfeiting, and spends almost six months in the notorious Black
Beach Prison until all charges are dropped when the court learns that the
accusations were ordered “from above” – most likely in response to cartoons he
had drawn in criticism of the dictatorship.
AUSTRALIAN authorities
trawl the oceans, netting “illegal immigrants” seeking a better life, and
imprisoning them without rights and under inhumane conditions in detention
camps on Manus Island, Papua New Guinea. Incarcerated there for seven years,
Iranian cartoonist ‘Eaten Fish’ battles mental health and physical abuse as he
campaigns – through his drawings – for his own release and that of his fellow
inmates.
In IRAN,
a cartoon by Atena Farghadani depicts members of parliament as animals as they
vote for a bill that would further reduce women’s rights. She is arrested,
charged with “spreading propaganda”, and sentenced to over 12 years
imprisonment – reduced to 18 months on appeal. During her incarceration she is
strip-searched, beaten and verbally abused by guards. She is also subjected to
virginity and pregnancy tests after shaking the hand of her lawyer. They are
both charged with “indecent conduct”. She amounts a hunger strike and suffers a
heart attack in prison.
NICARAGUA: Subjected
to a growing number of personal threats as a result of his cartoons exposing
the brutal regime, Pedro Xavier Molina is eventually forced into exile in fear
for his safety, after police kill a journalist, detain two others, and ransack
the offices of the publication he works for.
DENMARK: Twelve
editorial cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad spark a global response
subjecting the cartoonists to state sponsored death threats (fatwas) and a
decade long global frenzy of violence including the burning of embassies,
bombing of churches and other riotous acts of terror, resulting in the reported loss of 250 lives and 800 wounded worldwide,
culminating in an attack in FRANCE where twelve people are murdered
including the authors of subsequent Muhammad cartoons.
These
are but a few examples of the threats faced by editorial cartoonists around the
world whose rights we continue to champion.
CARTOONISTS
RIGHTS was founded by Bro
Russell in 1999 as a non profit organization to protect the rights of
editorial cartoonists under threat. Ours was the first global organization
whose core purpose is the protection of cartoonists rights in the pursuit of
freedom of expression without fear. If you appreciate the need for cartoonists
to continue to speak truth to power please join our campaign as a Cartoonist
Defender follow our socials below and if you are able to; make a donation to help the cause.
