19 Dec 16 | Malaysia, News and features
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Malaysian cartoonist Zunar is facing charges under a colonial era Sedition Act. (Photo: Sean Gallagher/Index on Censorship)
Malaysian cartoonist Zulkiflee Anwar Ulhaque, aka Zunar, was arrested on Saturday 17 December during a fund-raising event to recoup losses related to the seizure of 20 of his artworks. Police also confiscated 1,000 books during the arrest.
In a statement, the award-winning cartoonist wrote that authorities took him into custody under Section 124 of the country’s penal code for “being detrimental to parliamentary democracy”. Two of Zunar’s assistants were also arrested, as were two of his fans.
“I was questioned for almost six hours and released under bail at midnight. I would have to report back to the police station on the 30 Dec 2016,” Zunar wrote.
The police also said that they would be banning all his books.
It was the cartoonist’s second arrest in three weeks. On 25th Nov 2016, he was arrested under the Sedition Act for his cartoons which are deemed insulting to the country’s prime minister Najib Razak.
The artist was questioned under the penal code under suspicion of intentionally humiliating a person. He was released the next day.
“Even though I have been released, the harassment from the Malaysian government is far from over. I have to report back to the police in Penang on 27 December 2016 for further investigation. And yesterday (26 November), two people who assisted me in organizing the exhibition were also called up by the police for questioning,” the cartoonist said in a statement.
On 25 November Zunar was forced to end his three-day exhibition after only a few hours when a group of “pro-government thugs,” believed to be a part of the United Malays National Organisation, physically assaulted the cartoonist and damaged his displayed work. “They pulled my shirt and threw a punch at me,” Zunar told Index, “but people came and rescued me.”
The Malaysian government has long attempted to silence the cartoonist, who currently is awaiting trial on nine charges of sedition, which carry a potential 43-year jail term, for his cartoons government-critical cartoons. The trial is set for 24 January 2017 and Zunar is currently on bail.
A travel ban was placed on Zunar on 24 June of this year but was Zunar only became aware of the limitation when he was held by immigration police at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport when attempting to leave Malaysia on 17 October.
Zunar has been arrested twice before, once for two days in 2010 for publishing his book Cartoon-O-Phobia, and again for three days in 2015 for violating the Sedition Act.
The Sedition Act, which was put in place to silence opposition to British colonial rule in 1948, has become a popular way for the Malaysian government to silence critical voices such as Zunar. The award-winning cartoonist has been challenging the law for years.
“I can smell that the 10th charge of the Sedition Act is on the way. I am already facing 9 charges under that draconian act and the trial is set to be on 24 January 2017,” Zunar said.
The artist was questioned under the penal code under suspicion of intentionally humiliating a person. He was released the next day.
“Even though I have been released, the harassment from the Malaysian government is far from over. I have to report back to the police in Penang on 27 December 2016 for further investigation. And yesterday (26 November), two peeple who assisted me in organizing the exhibition were also called up by the police for questioning,” the cartoonist said in a statement.
On 25 November Zunar was forced to end his three-day exhibition after only a few hours when a group of “pro-government thugs,” believed to be a part of the United Malays National Organisation, physically assaulted the cartoonist and damaged his displayed work. “They pulled my shirt and threw a punch at me,” Zunar told Index, “but people came and rescued me.”
The Malaysian government has long attempted to silence the cartoonist, who currently is awaiting trial on nine charges of sedition, which carry a potential 43-year jail term, for his cartoons government-critical cartoons. The trial is set for 24 January 2017 and Zunar is currently on bail.
A travel ban was placed on Zunar on 24 June of this year but was Zunar only became aware of the limitation when he was held by immigration police at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport when attempting to leave Malaysia on 17 October.
Prior to 25 November, Zunar had been arrested twice before, once for two days in 2010 for publishing his book Cartoon-O-Phobia, and again for three days in 2015 for violating the Sedition Act.
The Sedition Act, which was put in place to silence opposition to British colonial rule in 1948, has become a popular way for the Malaysian government to silence critical voices such as Zunar. The award-winning cartoonist has been challenging the law for years.
“I can smell that the 10th charge of the Sedition Act is on the way. I am already facing 9 charges under that draconian act and the trial is set to be on 24 January 2017,” Zunar said.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_basic_grid post_type=”post” max_items=”4″ element_width=”6″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1482137483571-c06078d4-e22e-2″ taxonomies=”4218″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][/vc_column][/vc_row]
24 Oct 16 | Malaysia, News and features
Award-winning Malaysian cartoonist Zunar, who faces up to 43 years imprisonment for tweeting his cartoons criticising his country’s leaders reported on 17 October that he has had a travel ban imposed blocking him from travelling outside the country.
Zulkiflee Anwar Ulhaque, known as Zunar, has faced harassment from the Malaysian government for his political cartoons. Five of his books have been banned in Malaysia and his office has been raided several times, resulting in the confiscation of thousands of his books.
The Malaysian government has banned his books on the grounds that they can “influence the public to revolt against the leaders and government policies” and they are “detrimental to public order.”
Any bookstore, vendor, printer or publisher who agrees to sell the cartoonist’s books also face harassment from the Malaysian government, receiving threats of having their business licenses revoked or their offices raided. Zunar’s books are now printed without the name of the publisher to protect them. Although this is against the law, he has no choice if he wishes to continue publication of his cartoons.
Zunar is being charged under the Sedition Act, which was originally put in place in 1948 to curb opposition to British colonial rule, but the law has remained part of Malaysia’s legal system. The Sedition Act prohibits any behavior that could be deemed detrimental to the government. This outdated law allows the Malaysian government to censor opposition.
His cartoons have covered a wide range of controversial topics in Malaysia, from unsolved murders to political conspiracies. His motto is proudly displayed throughout his website, “How Can I Be Neutral, Even My Pen Has a Stand” emphasising his unfaltering mindset to stand up to the Malaysian government.
Zunar has challenged the Sedition Act and the Malaysian government multiple times in the past. First in 2010 to fight the banning of his books in the country, then in 2011 against the government and police for unlawful arrest and detention. Unfortunately in both cases the courts ruled against him.
Now with a travel ban placed on him by the Malaysian government, Zunar plans to again file a suit to challenge its validity. The cartoonist discovered the ban on 17 October 2016 at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport, though it has been effective since 24 June 2016.
With the court proceedings for Zunar set for 22 November, he faces a maximum of 43 years in prison for tweeting his cartoons. The cartoonist has been imprisoned twice in the past; once for two days in 2010 and again for three days in 2015, both times for violating the Sedition Act. Three of Zunar’s assistants were also arrested in 2014 for selling his cartoons.
Zunar is currently out on bail but is stuck in Malaysia with the threat of 43 years imprisonment ahead of him. Despite this, he remains dedicated to exposing the corruption of the government, stating in an interview with Index on Censorship in 2015, “I will never stop, it is my right as a citizen to express my view and my responsibility as a cartoonist to give alternative views.”
21 Oct 16 | Americas, mobile, News and features, United States
For the good of society, American cartoonist Mike Diana was jailed without bail in 1994. So ruled a jury at the Pinellas County court in Florida, taking just 90 minutes to find him guilty of obscenity following a week-long trial in March of that year.
Diana was the first – and to date, only – cartoonist to be jailed for his work in the USA.
His ordeal began when one of his Boiled Angel comics – with the stated aim of being “the most offensive zine ever made” – ended up in the hands of a law enforcement officer in California in 1991. The shocking (and often funny) depictions of sex and violence reminded him of a series of then-unsolved murders in Gainesville, Florida. He passed his suspicions on to counterparts in the Sunshine State who took a blood sample from Diana. The cartoonist was found to have had absolutely no links with the crime but prosecutor Stuart Baggish took one look at the comic “and knew right away what [he] was looking at was obscenity”.
Boiled sold only 300 copies by mail and the only issue sold in Dian’s hometown was to an undercover police officer. Although quickly released, Diana was given three years probation, ordered to pat a $3,000 fine, given 1,248 hours community service and ordered to avoid contact with minors.
A new documentary is in the works about Diana and the limitations of the right to free speech in the face of outrage and cries of obscenity. The Trial of Mike Diana, created by cult filmmaker Frank Henenlotter, has launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds to finish the film and to cover the costs of a legal review typical of a project which deals heavily with the American court system.
The documentary features many of those who were there during the 1994 trial, including Baggish, as well as interviews with Diana fans and supporters Neil Gaiman, Peter Bagge and Stephen Bissette.
Diana will contribute original animation to the film.
For a medium that lends itself so well to the light-hearted, cartoons have frequently fallen victim to censors. More than two decades on from the sentencing of Diana, they still face prosecution, persecution, death threats and abuse worldwide. Last year’s attack on the offices of Charlie Hebdo was the most high-profile example of just how dangerous the medium can be.
Could history be repeated in the USA? Are the freedoms many Americans take for granted at risk? As Henenlotter puts it: “Freedom of Speech doesn’t mean anything if your art is declared ‘obscene’ and one man’s art could be another man’s obscenity. That’s the battle we explore in this documentary: an improbable collision between comic-book art and the First Amendment.”
More articles about cartoonists:
Targeted cartoonists show support for Charlie Hebdo
Malaysian cartoonist Zunar says “I will keep drawing until the last drop of my ink”
Ecuadorean cartoonist Bonil facing charges after mocking politician
Indian cartoonist arrested on sedition charges
04 May 16 | Asia and Pacific, Malaysia, mobile, News and features
Zunar receiving the award from Kofi Annan, secretary-general of the United Nations, at the Palais Eynard, Geneva
Malaysian cartoonist Zulkiflee Anwar Haque, aka Zunar, has won the 2016 Cartooning for Peace Prize.
The award was presented at a ceremony at the Palais Eynard in Geneva on Monday 3 May 2016 by the honorary president of the Swiss Foundation Cartooning for Peace and former secretary-general of the United Nations Kofi Annan.
Annan said the award — jointly won by Kenyan cartoonist Gado — “reminds us how fragile this liberty remains in Africa and in Asia as well as in other regions of the world”.
“Through their commitment towards open and transparent societies, Gado and Zunar, who have received threats in their countries of origin and can no longer practice their profession, confront us with our responsibility to preserve freedom of expression and act in order to support the combat of those who cannot express themselves through their art,” Annan added.
Zunar has been repeatedly targeted with arrest, detention and harassment for his cartoons which are critical of corruption and abuses of power committed by the Malaysian government. He is currently facing nine charges of sedition for criticising Malaysia’s judiciary over the recent incarceration of a Malaysian opposition leader and faces a possible 43 years in prison if found guilty.
The cartoonist said the Cartooning for Peace Prize gives him “strength for me to continue the fight against the 60-year old corrupt and repressive Malaysian regime”.
He said human rights and freedom of expression are in “dire straits” in Malaysia and the country’s institutions and draconian laws such as the Sedition Act are routinely used as a tool to “silence critics” and “maintain power”.
“Talent is not a gift, but a responsibility,” Zunar added. “It is a duty for me as a cartoonist to use the art as a weapon to fight unjust rulers. Fear and intimidation are the potent tools being used by the regime to scare the people.”
“I also strongly believe that, when faced with a moral crisis, there is no room to grumble in silence. We have to stand up and cry our voice out loud and clear. Neutrality is escapism for those who live in a comfort zone.”
Zunar has spent two periods in Malaysian jails, firstly in September 2010 and again from 10 February 2015. Several of his books have been banned while bookstores carrying his works have been raided and three of his assistants were arrested in October 2014 for selling his books. The webmaster, who manages his website and online bookstore, has been interrogated by Malaysian police.
Zunar has previously been awarded the 2011 Courage in Editorial Cartooning Award by Cartoonists Right Network International, the 2011 and 2015 Human Rights Watch Hellman/Hammett Award, and the 2015 International Press Freedom Award by the Committee to Protect Journalist.
Zunar received a standing ovation at Index on Censorship’s Freedom of Expression Awards in London in April.
Zulkiflee Anwar Haque, aka “Zunar”, upper right, is saluted by the audience. (Photo: Elina Kansikas for Index on Censorship)
