Dutch prosecutor appeals Holocaust cartoon aquittal

The Dutch public prosecutor will challenge an April court ruling which acquitted a Muslim group of insulting Jews by publishing a cartoon denying the holocaust. The public prosecutor said yesterday the appeal was necessary to establish whether the cartoon added to public discussion or was “exceptionally offensive”. The Arab European League claims it was highlighting free speech double standards following the row over publication of cartoons featuring the prophet Mohammed.

Malaysian officials seize magazine

In Kuala Lumpur, copies of the inaugural issue of Gedung Kartun magazine have been confiscated by officials due to a “lack of publication permit” as well as for “content checking.” The magazine’s editor-in-chief and well-known cartoonist Zulkiflee Anwar Haque aka Zunar disputes this and claims to have verbally obtained a license serial number. Read more here

Editor receives death threat over cartoon

Najam Sethi, chief editor of Pakistan’s Daily Times, received death threats from militant group the Islamic Taliban Movement for publishing a cartoon in one of the paper’s sister publications, Aaj Kal. The cartoon depicted the leader of a radical women’s madrassa, Umme Hassan, calling for female students to wage violent jihad. The threat followed a demonstration in Lahore last week during which Hassan called the cartoon blasphemous.

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