RELEASE CARTOONIST IMPRISONED FOR “HURTING RELIGIOUS FEELINGS”

4 January 2008

Protestors against publication of cartoon burn
copies of the newspaper in Dhaka, Bangladesh, 21
September 2007Mohammed Arifur Rahman, a
cartoonist in Bangladesh, was arrested when
street demonstrations by Islamist groups followed
the publication of one of his cartoons. He has
been detained since 18 September 2007. The
cartoon was published in Alpin, a supplement of
the leading daily newspaper in Bangladesh, the
Prothom Alo.

Mohammed Arifur Rahman was subsequently charged
with “hurting religious feelings” and detained in
jail pending trial. The charge carries a maximum
sentence of two years’ imprisonment.

He is also held under the Special Powers Act,
which allows for preventive detention without
trial, whether or not the detainee has been
charged with a criminal offence. The detention
order was initially imposed for 30 days, but it
is reported that it has been extended for another
three months.

Mohammed Arifur Rahman is a university graduate
with a keen interest in art and painting. He was
awarded the first prize in a national
anti-corruption cartoon competition by the
Bangladeshi newspaper, the Daily Star. He is the
sole breadwinner of his family and was supporting
his mother and younger sister through the income
earned from his drawings, supplemented by
part-time work as a shop assistant.

He continues to deny that his cartoon, which he
described as replicating the words of a joke
popular in his home village, was in any way
intended to offend religious sensibilities.

Amnesty International considers Mohammed Arifur
Rahman to be a prisoner of conscience, having
been detained and charged solely for the
legitimate and peaceful exercise of his right to
freedom of expression, and is calling for his
immediate and unconditional release.