Hadi Heidari

Hadi Heidari
Hadi Heydari

Hadi Heidari is a press cartoonist in Tehran, Iran, whose work has appeared in reformist newspapers including Shargh, Norooz and Neshat.[1] He is 39, and has a degree in painting from Tehran's Arts and Architecture University.[2] Heidari was imprisoned in 2015 for a cartoon that offended members of the government.

Arrests and imprisonments

In 2009 Heidari was jailed for several weeks during a crackdown following the disputed re-election of President Mahmud Ahmadinejad[3] In addition to imprisonment in 2009, he had been arrested in 2010 and 2012.[4]

One commentator suggests that in the Muslim world, political cartoons offer a reliable way to get a point across to people who can't read.[5] The US-based Committee to Protect Journalists rates Iran as the fourth most-censored country in the world,[6] and a number of journalists remain in prison.[7]

Heidari was imprisoned in 2015 while working at The Shahrvand, a daily newspaper owned by Iran's Red Crescent Society, the equivalent of the Red Cross.[8] He was sent to Tehran’s Evin Prison to complete a suspended one-year jail sentence imposed in 2013 for his "Blindfold" cartoon, which had been published in the Shargh; leading to a three-month shutdown of that publication.[9]

The Revolutionary Guards had filed a suit against Heidari for his cartoon, which showed a lineup of people, each tying a black blindfold on the next person in line. The cartoon had no caption, leading to several different interpretations.[1] Several politicians alleged that the cartoon had been intentionally released during the week of Holy Defence (a term referring to the eight-year Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s). According to the politicians, the blindfolds "reflected the black headband worn by Iranian soldiers – and suggested that the soldiers went to war blindly",[1] and that the cartoon offended veterans of that war.[2]

Cartoon responding to Paris terror attacks

Shortly before his 2015 arrest, Heidari had gained international attention[10] with another cartoon, which depicted the Eiffel Tower in tearful solidarity with the people of France over the attacks on Paris by Islamic State in 2015.[8] Heidari was imprisoned shortly after his Paris cartoon was published.[11]

2015 release

On 26 April 2016, Heidari announced his release, thanking his supporters and posting an image on Instagram of a dove being freed from its cage.[10]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Hadi Heidari, creator of controversial "Blindfold" cartoon, finishes serving sentence". Radio Zamaneh. 2016-04-28. Archived from the original on 9 September 2021 – via Payvand.
  2. ^ a b David Schwartz (2015-11-30). "Cartoonist Who Created Iconic Image After Paris Attacks Imprisoned in Iran". Voice Project. Retrieved 2016-06-15.
  3. ^ Esfandiari, Golnaz (2015-12-04). "Popular Iranian Poet, Songwriter Arrested". Rferl.org. Retrieved 2016-06-15.
  4. ^ "Arrestation du dessinateur iranien Hadi Heidari" (in French). Dessins pour la paix (Cartooning for Peace). 19 November 2015.
  5. ^ Palmer, Brian (2010-12-13). "Are political cartoons popular in the Muslim world?". Slate.com. Retrieved 2016-06-15.
  6. ^ "Doodle danger? Iranian cartoonists on tightrope during election campaign". 7 June 2013.
  7. ^ Saeed Kamali Dehghan (27 April 2016). "Tehran court jails three Iranian journalists for spreading propaganda | World news". The Guardian. Retrieved 2016-06-15.
  8. ^ a b "Prominent Iranian Cartoonist Reported Arrested in Tehran". The New York Times. 17 November 2015.
  9. ^ "Iranian Cartoonist Behind Iconic Paris Image Imprisoned". 17 November 2015.
  10. ^ a b Egherman, Tori (2016-04-27). "Imprisoned Iranian Cartoonist Hadi Heidari Goes Free · Global Voices". GlobalVoices.
  11. ^ "Cartoonist Hadi Heidari jailed in Iran". Cartoonists Rights. 17 November 2015. Retrieved 2016-06-17.
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