From Cartoonists Rights Network International and Cartooning for Peace.
MALAYSIA – Fahmi Reza
Malaysian cartoonist Fahmi Reza, who was due to travel to Singapore for a few days on June 7 to attend a concert, was unable to board his flight at Kuala Lumpur international airport.
The immigration authorities informed him that he was banned from leaving the country by the police, without specifying the reason for this measure. On May 29, Fahmi Reza had been banned from entering the State of Sabah by the local authorities.
These restrictions come four months after Fahmi Reza was arrested in Sabah after publishing cartoons critical of the State’s governor, who has been accused of corruption. He has since been investigated, notably under the Sedition Act.
In the local press, the police denied the existence of a travel ban, but claimed that Fahmi Reza was on a watch list because of the ongoing investigation into his case.
Indian cartoonist Hemant Malviya has been in custody since May after posting a cartoon on Facebook depicting a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), an ultra-nationalist Hindu organisation, and Prime Minister Modi.
According to the local press, Hemant Malviya has been charged under sections 196, 299 and 352 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita – the Indian Penal Code that came into effect on 1 July 2024 – for acts that allegedly ‘disturbed communal harmony and religious sentiments’.
TÜRKIYE – LeMan Magazine
These restrictions come four months after Fahmi Reza was arrested in Sabah after publishing cartoons critical of the State’s governor, who has been accused of corruption. He has since been investigated, notably under the Sedition Act.
In the local press, the police denied the existence of a travel ban, but claimed that Fahmi Reza was on a watch list because of the ongoing investigation into his case.
Indian cartoonist Hemant Malviya has been in custody since May after posting a cartoon on Facebook depicting a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), an ultra-nationalist Hindu organisation, and Prime Minister Modi.
He was arrested by the police following a complaint by an RSS activist. His Facebook account has since been suspended.
According to the local press, Hemant Malviya has been charged under sections 196, 299 and 352 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita – the Indian Penal Code that came into effect on 1 July 2024 – for acts that allegedly ‘disturbed communal harmony and religious sentiments’.
He is also reportedly charged under section 67A of the Information Technology Act for ‘electronically sharing content depicting sexually explicit acts’.
At the beginning of July, we learned that the Madhya High Court had rejected his request for bail, ruling that the RSS representative and the Prime Minister were represented ‘in an undignified manner’ and that the cartoonist’s act was ‘deliberate and malicious and aimed at offending the religious sentiments of the complainant and the general public by insulting his religion, which is detrimental to the maintenance of harmony in society.’
The state representative argued that, in the name of freedom of expression, it could not be permissible to draw a cartoon depicting the RSS and the Prime Minister in an ‘offensive and degrading manner’.
In an increasingly restrictive environment for freedom of expression and growing instrumentalisation of religion, the cartoonist’s lawyer unsuccessfully argued that his work was essentially satirical and that his custody violated the Supreme Court’s guidelines on arbitrary detention.
At the beginning of July, we learned that the Madhya High Court had rejected his request for bail, ruling that the RSS representative and the Prime Minister were represented ‘in an undignified manner’ and that the cartoonist’s act was ‘deliberate and malicious and aimed at offending the religious sentiments of the complainant and the general public by insulting his religion, which is detrimental to the maintenance of harmony in society.’
The state representative argued that, in the name of freedom of expression, it could not be permissible to draw a cartoon depicting the RSS and the Prime Minister in an ‘offensive and degrading manner’.
In an increasingly restrictive environment for freedom of expression and growing instrumentalisation of religion, the cartoonist’s lawyer unsuccessfully argued that his work was essentially satirical and that his custody violated the Supreme Court’s guidelines on arbitrary detention.
The cartoonist’s lawyer also argued that the cartoonist had merely drawn the cartoon and that his satirical work published on Facebook was not responsible for the comments it provoked online.
India ranks 151st out of 180 countries in the World Press Freedom Index compiled by Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
India ranks 151st out of 180 countries in the World Press Freedom Index compiled by Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
TÜRKIYE – LeMan Magazine
You will doubtless have read about the protests June 30th at LeMan's office in Istanbul over their publication of an allegedly blasphemous cartoon, followed swiftly by arrests of staff members and a criminal investigation of the magazine's finances.
Together with Cartooning for Peace and Reporters Without Borders we were swift to respond, calling for the release of those detained.
Together with Cartooning for Peace and Reporters Without Borders we were swift to respond, calling for the release of those detained.
However following widespread misreporting on the content of the cartoon strip by Doğan Pehlevan, we felt it necessary to make a further statement clarifying the deliberate and politically-motivated misinterpretation of the image, and its use as a pretext to justify an attempt to entirely dismantle LeMan, a title that has been both sued by the government and banned from distribution on occasions in the past.
USA – Adam Zyglis
USA – Adam Zyglis
Also on July 10th the Buffalo Newspaper Guild announced the short-notice cancellation of a public event featuring Adam Zyglis, necessitated by the volume of threats of violence directed at Adam and his family following his Buffalo News cartoon three days prior, misconstrued as mocking victims of the Kerr County, TX flash-flooding.
TÜRKIYE – Zehra Ömeroglu
Regrettably, last week Zehra received notice of a petition to a court of appeal in an effort to overturn the June decision that acquitted her of criminal charges related to her cartoon that appeared in LeMan in 2020.
TÜRKIYE – Zehra Ömeroglu
She took part in a Media Freedom Rapid Response webinar about the crisis in Türkiye July 28th; a recording has since been added to their YouTube channel.
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