Martin Rowson

December 7th, 2012

Martin Rowson is an award-winning cartoonist, writer and satirist in the tradition of Swift and Gillray. Here he talks about humour, satire and offence saying:

I think there are people crying out to be offended by things

Read full transcript here

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Indian cartoonist arrested on sedition charges

September 10th, 2012

The arrest of an anti-corruption cartoonist in India on sedition charges has sparked outrage. Marta Cooper reports (more…)

India: University professor arrested over anti-Mamata cartoons

April 17th, 2012

A university protester has been arrested for allegedly spreading derogatory cartoons against “respectable persons” in India. Ambikesh Mahapatra, a chemistry professor at Jadavpur University in Bengal, was arrested on Friday (13 April) for forwarding the cartoons of Bengal’s Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee to a number of recipients, and mocking local government policies. The professor has been charged with cyber crime offences.

Malaysia: Political cartoonist takes government to court

January 20th, 2012

Political cartoonist Zunar (Zulkifli Anwar Ulhaque) appeared at the Kuala Lumpur High Court this week for the first hearing of a civil suit in which he challenges the Malaysian government and police for his arrest and detention on 24 September 2010. Zunar is seeking the return of confiscated property as well as aggravated losses and damages incurred in the raid of his office, during which police seized copies of his latest work, Cartoon-O-Phobia, and arrested him for sedition. The raid occurred just hours before the book’s launch.

India: Anti-corruption cartoon website suspended

January 4th, 2012

Cartoons Against Corruption, the website of Indian cartoonist Aseem Trivedi has been suspended  by its internet host after complaints that it illegally showcased content mocking India’s constitution. The complaint by a Mumbai-based lawyer described the cartoons as “defamatory and derogatory”. One of the disputed works replaced the lions on India’s national emblem with wolves and changed the emblem’s inscription from “Bhrashtamev Jayate” [Long Live Corruption] to “Satyamev Jayate” [Long Live Truth]. Trivedi told the Wall Street Journal’s India Real Time his intention was to “depict the ailing truth of the nation and send across a strong message to the masses.”