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Malaysian Political Cartoonist Loses Appeal for Wrongful Arrest
posted on by Lynzee Loveridge
Malaysian political cartoonist Zulkiflee "Zunar" Anwar Ulhaque lost his appeal in Malaysian court earlier this month for wrongful arrest. Zunar was arrested and charged with sedition by authorities based on content in his political cartoon book Cartoon-O-Phobia in 2010. The courts found that the police had “cause for suspicion that the book is seditious” but agreed that the confiscation of 66 copies of Cartoon-O-Phobia was without cause and Zunar should be compensated.
In his blog, Zunar pointed out the hypocrisy of the decision writing, "How could the judges rule that my detention was legal but the confiscation of my book was illegal? Mind you, I am the author of the book. If the book is okay and not banned, why was I, the author, arrested and detained? What offence did I commit?"
Zunar plans to further appeal the decision to Malaysia's Federal Court but admitted that he does not expect to win.
Source: Comic Book Legal Defense Fund
