Malaysia deports Saudi journalist accused of insulting prophet in a tweet
The Malaysian government has defended its deportation of a Saudi journalist accused of insulting the Prophet Muhammad in a tweet Home Minister Hishamuddin Hussein said the deportation to Saudi Arabia was legal and that Malaysia cannot be seen as a safe haven. Hamza Kashgari, 23, was sent back to Saudi Arabia on Sunday. Mr Kashgari’s [...]
Urgent Petition: Justice for Victor Leiva !
Dear friends, On the 2nd February 2011 our friend Víctor Leiva, known as “el Mono”, left the cultural center where he was taking dance classes. Moments later a firearm cut his life short. Víctor was 24 years old when he was murdered. He was an artist and human rights defender, focusing particularly on the rights [...]
Malaysia: Political satirist takes government to court over ‘Cartoon-O-Phobia’
Kuala Lumpur 18.01.12: Celebrated Malaysian political cartoonist Zunar (née Zulkifli Anwar Ulhaque) appeared at the Kuala Lumpur High Court today for the first hearing of a civil suit brought by himself against the government and the police, in which he challenges them for his wrongful arrest and detention in September 2010. Represented by the group [...]
Jenin Freedom Theatre Director Zakaria Zubeidi back on Israel’s wanted list
Zakaria Zbeidi, the former commander of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades in Jenin who was pardoned by Israel two years ago, has been added to Israel’s wanted list again. In recent days, Palestinian security services informed Zbeidi that upon Israel’s request, he must remain in the Palestinian Authority’s detention facilities during all hours of the day [...]
Vaclav Havel, Dissident Playwright Who Led Czechoslovakia, Dead at 75
Vaclav Havel, the writer and dissident whose eloquent dissections of Communist rule helped to destroy it in revolutions that brought down the Berlin Wall and swept Havel himself into power, died on Sunday. He was 75. A shy yet resilient, unfailingly polite but dogged man who articulated the power of the powerless, Mr. Havel spent five [...]
fD @ Artsfex – Copenhagen Summit on Artistic Freedom of Expression, 9-11 December
fD joins the Artsfex summit in Copenhagen on 9-11 December 2011 along with several prominent national and international artists’ networks, and freedom of expression organisations. The summit is organised by Freemuse and Danish PEN, and funded by the Danish Ministry of Culture. Participants will present recent examples of censorship of the arts, and discuss the effects [...]
Stop the persecution of Bahraini artists and intellectuals!
fD joins Trans Europe Halles, Freemuse and the International Coalition of Arts, Human Rights and Social Justice in denouncing the continued persecution of Bahraini artists and intellectuals. Since the popular uprisings began this past spring, several hundred culture workers have faced threats, harassment, loss of job, torture and imprisonment. Several weeks ago we submitted a [...]
VI. Festival Against Censorship honors fD stakeholder ZUNAR with the 2011 “Courage to Fight Censorship” award
BILBAO, Spain. November 10, 2011 - ZUNAR a.k.a. Zulkiflee Anwar Haque, who has been drawing editorial cartoons for the past 20 years in Malaysia, was awarded the “Courage To Fight Censorship” Award at the VI. Festival Against Censorship. ZUNAR uses his drawing pen as a weapon to fight state corruption and abuse of power. [...]
fD participates in VI. Festival Against Censorship – November 7-11
fD program coordinator Sidd Joag joins a roundtable discussion at the VI. Festival Against Censorship in Bilbao, Spain. Now in its 6th year, the Festival is organized by the Basque production company Serrano in collaboration with FREEMUSE and in 2010 honored fD with its annual No Censorship award. Highlights of this year’s Festival program include [...]
‘Cultures of Resistance’ – Artists on Art and Activism
fD program coordinator and visual artist Sidd Joag joins a panel with poet Suheir Hammad, filmmaker Iara Lee and Paul D. Miller a.k.a D.J. Spooky, to explore the role of the artist in a global society, including that of the diasporic artist. The panel will be moderated by NYU Tisch School of the Arts’ Arts [...]
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