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Cartoonist Arifur Rahman in Bangladesh gearresteerd

Nieuws dinsdag 18 september 2007

In Bangladesh is een tekenaar opgepakt. Hij had zich in de wekelijkse bijlage van een krant via een stripfiguur grapjes veroorloofd met de naam van de profeet Mohammed. De tekeningen van Arifur Rahman, getiteld ‘Naam’, kwetsen de religieuze gevoelens van de bevolking, volgens het ministerie van binnenlandse zaken.
Het ministerie gaf opdracht tot confiscatie van de gehele oplage van het satirische supplement, Alpin. De krant, Prothom Alo, verontschuldigde zich en trok het supplement terug. Islamitische leiders riepen de autoriteiten op ook de krant te sluiten en de hoofdredacteur en uitgever te arresteren voor het publiceren van de ‘zeer aanstootgevende’ tekeningen. "Dit is een zware overtreding, dit is gevaarlijk", zei Obaidul Huq, de hoogste geestelijke van de moskee Baitul Mukarram in Dhaka.

Nieuws woensdag 19 september 2007

In Bangladesh is een cartoonist opgepakt die in de nationale krant met de naam van de profeet Mohammed had gespot. De tekeningen van Arifur Rahman, getiteld ‘Naam’, kwetsen de religieuze gevoelens van de bevolking, volgens het ministerie van binnenlandse zaken.
Het ministerie gaf opdracht tot confiscatie van de gehele oplage en de krant in kwestie, Prothom Alo, verontschuldigde zich. Dat was echter niet voldoende voor de Islamitische leiders, die de autoriteiten opriepen de krant op te doeken en de hoofdredacteur en uitgever te arresteren voor het publiceren van de "zeer aanstootgevende tekeningen". "Dit is een zware overtreding, dit is gevaarlijk", aldus Obaidul Huq, de hoogste geestelijke van de moskee Baitul Mukarram in Dhaka.

Background / extra information:

by Staff Correspondent

A three-day cartoon exhibition against corruption got underway at the Drik Gallery at Dhanmondi in the Dhaka city on Thursday.
Transparency International Bangladesh is organising the exhibition with 80 cartoons selected from among those submitted in a competition arranged ahead of International Anti-Corruption Day on December 9.
Some 300 school, college and university students, and practitioners of the maximum age limit of 35 years submitted the cartoons in two groups.
TIB executive director Iftekharuzzaman said they had tried to involve the young generation in a sustainable movement against corruption by organising the competition and the exhibition.
‘Cartoon and essay competition for the young people against corruption is part of our social movement and we got tremendous response from the participants,’ he said.
Cartoonists Rafiqunnabi, Shisir Bhattarcharjee, Shahrier Khan and Ahsan Habib, who were in the panel of judges in the competition, were present at the inauguration ceremony of the exhibition. Ambassador of Denmark in Bangladesh Einar H Jensen was also present.
The Danish ambassador said Bangladesh and Denmark stand in a position opposite to each other as per the Transparency International corruption index.
‘Denmark, as per the TI report, is in the 4th position among the less corruption countries,’ he said and hoped that the people of Bangladesh would be aware about corruption and make a social movement against it.
In the cartoon competition, Mahdin-Ur-Rahman won the first prize while Masum Billal and Minara Akhter became second and third in the junior group (age between 13 and 18). In the senior group (age between 19 years and 35 years), Sumn Wahid got the first prize, Mamun Hossain second and Arifur Rahman got the third prize.
TIB will hand over the prizes of the competition in the city.

2. New Age Metro/Dhaka – 18-05-2005

by Correspondent: Rajshahi

Islamic Chhatra Shibir beat two students on the Rajshahi University campus on charge of stealing moneybag.
Injured Shamim Akhtar Likhon and Arifur Rahman, master’s students of social science are now under treatment in Rajshahi Medical College Hospital.
Campus sources said the students went to Room 212 of Madar Bux Hall Sunday night to sell a campus-based magazine where Chhatra Shibir activist Salah Uddin was alone. The students left the room after Salah Uddin had refused to buy the magazine.
As they left the room, Salah Uddin cried out, saying that his money bag had been stolen; neighbouring boarders detained the two in the room.
The Shibir activists beat them three times, they told newsmen in the hospital on Tuesday.
Another source said the magazine, the Shibir activists earlier restricted the sale of the magazine tilted towards progressive left political ideology.
The university unit Shibir president, Mahabub Alam, denied any Shibir link with the incident.