Monday, September 10, 2012

Cartoonist Aseem Trivedi's arrest revives free-speech debate in India...

The arrest of a cartoonist on sedition charges for drawings that satirise graft in India's political elite rekindled a national debate on freedom of speech on Monday weeks after a clampdown on Twitter in the world's largest democracy.

Cartoonist Aseem Trivedi turned himself in and was remanded in custody on Sunday, an official at the east Mumbai police station told Reuters.

The arrest followed a private complaint over a series of cartoons, including one that depicts the parliament building as a lavatory buzzing with flies. If found guilty, the satirist faces a three-year prison term.

Trivedi became an instant cause celebre among free speech and anti-corruption activists who complain India's corruption-plagued government is increasingly intolerant of criticism.

Tousle-haired and bearded, Trivedi shouted slogans as he was bundled by police into a patrol car outside the court, television images showed. He refused the services of a lawyer and welcomed his own arrest. Full story...

Related posts:
  1. Anti-corruption cartoonist in India arrested over "sedition" charges...
  2. Why is India so touchy about outside criticism?
  3. India's face-off with internet freedom...
  4. India quietly puts a tight leash on internet free speech...
  5. India forces magazine to blank out map of Kashmir...
  6. Internet censorship is bad in China; is it any better in the "free" world?

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