The offended Majlis deputy has been moved to announce that he is withdrawing his suit against the cartoonist—but since the case has already been decided, it isn’t clear that he can withdraw the suit now.
Freedom of speech advocates around the world have been appalled by the decision. Many in Iran have been even more appalled since Iran, both before and after the revolution, has a long tradition of cartooning.
The caricature of Majlis Deputy Ahmad Lotfi Ashtiani was not obviously offensive; the only part that the deputy might take exception to would be the prominent belly he carries in the caricature.
The Mehr news agency quoted Deputy Ashtiani as saying his suit was aimed at the article that accompanied the cartoon, not at the cartoon itself, and therefore he was withdrawing his suit against cartoonist Mohammad Shukrayeh. Ashtiani didn’t say why he named Shokrayeh in the suit if he wasn’t concerned about the caricature.
The article discussed the deputy’s failed efforts to bring the annual Iranian soccer championship to Arak, the city he represents in the Majlis. The cartoon shows the deputy in a football uniform with his foot on a soccer ball and carrying a rolled up paper with a tag saying “Letter of Appreciation” with obvious spelling mistakes. The media have been criticizing many political figures for what has been hailed in recent months as undue interference in sports by officialdom.
It was hard to find anyone defending the court’s sentence of 25 lashes. Even Pedram Pakayin, head of the domestic media division of the Culture Ministry, expressed astonishment, calling the sentence “disproportionate and unprecedented.” He told the Fars news agency nothing in the caricature could be considered offensive. He expressed hope that the sentence would be quashed on appeal.
Masud Shojai-Tabatabai, head of the Iranian House of Cartoons, also expressed astonishment, noting that cartoons of government officials, including President Ahmadi-nejad, have been accepted for decades without any hint of such a punishment. He said all cartoonists understand there are red lines when it comes to religious and moral issues, but asked, “If a cartoonist cannot draw a simple image of a Majlis deputy, then how can he be a cartoonist?”
Many cartoonists, journalists and news websites viewed the ruling with alarm and wondered if it signaled some new and harsh crackdown by the regime, though the failure of anyone of prominence to defend the sentence appeared to signal otherwise. Many Iranian cartoonists showed their unity with Shokrayeh by quickly penning their own cartoons of the deputy.
Internationally, Amnesty International weighed in, saying, “This is yet one more example of the Iranian authorities’ relentless attack on freedom of expression. Flogging is cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment for any crime, and, as such, is prohibited under international law. The Iranian authorities should be working to remove it as a punishment in law instead of sentencing ever more people to lashes.”
Jo Glanville of the Index on Censorship, said, “This is a new low for freedom of expression in Iran.”
There are at least two instances in recent years when a cartoon was known to raise a furor. One was when Nikahang Kowsar portrayed a prominent cleric as a crocodile. Kowsar was arrested and briefly jailed. He was soon freed and subsequently left the country. The cleric is still known in Iran as “Ayatollah Crocodile.” The other case involved a cartoon in which a cockroach was shown speaking in Azeri. That set off days of rioting in cities in Iranian Azerbaijan. Cartoonist Mana Neyestani was jailed for two months. He now lives in Paris.
Deputy Ashtiani was not re-elected and will not be serving in the new Majlis that will be sworn in later this month.