Iranian cartoonist Mahmoud Shokrayeh has been sentenced to 25 lashes for ‘insulting’ a Member of the Islamic Assembly, Ahmad Lotfi Ashtiani, by drawing him in a football kit. The cartoon is criticising the interference of politicians in sports.
Another Iranian cartoonist, Mana Neyestani, condemned the sentence as “cruel and uncivilised” and called on others to publish more cartoons of Lotfi Ashtiani in solidarity with Shokrayeh.
Here’s one by Vahid Nikgoo showing Lotfi Ashtiani looking into a mirror with a speech bubble saying: “I’ll take you to court and sentence you to lashes so that you won’t draw me like this anymore!”
If you can draw cartoons, I’m not sure what are you waiting for?
I think this calls for a new Jesus and Mo cartoon…
Here, the government of Iran cartoons itself:
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120511/02325318874/irans-internet-filters-filter-out-leaders-screed-against-getting-around-filters.shtml
I was found guilty in 2010 of ‘insulting the dignity of the Turkish Prime Minister’ after showing a collage caricature of him in 2006 – http://yabanji.tripod.com/id18.html
No lashings, but faced with a hefty fine and prison sentence if I should display another collage picture of him with in the next five years…
Solidarity with Shokrayeh.
Remember that Alexander Aan is on trial for sharing/linking to a graphic history of an event in Muhammad’s life. They really are frightened of a few lines on a piece of paper.
Keep ’em coming!
cartoons drive these people crazy, but then so does any artistic work. Their creator for all his omnipotence seems not to have liked creativity