Akram Raslam
The death of Akram Raslan, an artist known for his political cartoons, at the hands of the government of Syria brought condemnation from various publications around the world. Drawing themes from the Syrian civil war, Raslan had drawn images expressing criticism of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad and Assad's actions against the Syrian people, as well as criticism of institutions such as the United Nations. While the cartoonist died in 2013, partial confirmation of the facts around the event were not released until 2015. However, many details remain uncertain. Background Akram Raslan was born in the Syrian city of Hama in 1974. He was awarded the Cartoonists Rights Network, International (CRNI)'s 2013 winner of the Award for Courage in Editorial Cartooning. Since the Syrian Civil War, along with many of Syria's artists, poets, writers and activists, Raslan remained incarcerated. He reportedly faced torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Political Cartoons
A political cartoon, a form of editorial cartoon, is a cartoon graphic with caricatures of public figures, expressing the artist's opinion. An artist who writes and draws such images is known as an editorial cartoonist. They typically combine artistic skill, hyperbole and satire in order to either question authority or draw attention to corruption, political violence and other social ills. Developed in England in the latter part of the 18th century, the political cartoon was pioneered by James Gillray, although his and others in the flourishing English industry were sold as individual prints in print shops. Founded in 1841, the British periodical ''Punch'' appropriated the term ''cartoon'' to refer to its political cartoons, which led to the term's widespread use. History Origins The pictorial satire has been credited as the precursor to the political cartoons in England: John J. Richetti, in ''The Cambridge history of English literature, 1660–1780'', states that "En ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Government Of Syria
Government of the Syrian Arab Republic is the union government created by the constitution of Syria where by the President of Syria, president is the head of state and the Prime Minister of Syria, prime minister is the head of government. Executive power is exercised by the government. Syria has a People's Assembly of Syria, legislative council with 250 members. The country has been in a Syrian civil war, civil war since 2011 against various domestic and foreign forces that oppose both the Syrian government and each other, in varying combinations. The seat of the government is located in Damascus, Syria. Administration The executive branch consists of the president, two Vice President of Syria, vice presidents, the prime minister, and the Council of Ministers of Syria, Council of Ministers (cabinet). The constitution requires the president to be a Muslim. , List of heads of state of Syria, President , Bashar al-Assad , Ba'ath Party (Syrian-led faction), Ba'ath Party , 17 July 2 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Bashar Al-Assad
Bashar Hafez al-Assad, ', Levantine pronunciation: ; (, born 11 September 1965) is a Syrian politician who is the 19th president of Syria, since 17 July 2000. In addition, he is the commander-in-chief of the Syrian Armed Forces and the Secretary-General of the Central Command of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party, which espouses the ideologies of neo-Ba'athism and Assadism. His father and predecessor was General Hafez al-Assad, whose presidency between 1971 to 2000 marked the transfiguration of Syria from a republican state into a dynastic military dictatorship tightly controlled by Alawite-dominated armed forces and ''Mukhabarat'' (secret services) loyal to the Assad family. Born and raised in Damascus, Bashar al-Assad graduated from the medical school of Damascus University in 1988 and began to work as a doctor in the Syrian Army. Four years later, he attended postgraduate studies at the Western Eye Hospital in London, specialising in ophthalmology. In 1994, afte ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations. It is the world's largest and most familiar international organization. The UN is headquarters of the United Nations, headquartered on extraterritoriality, international territory in New York City, and has other main offices in United Nations Office at Geneva, Geneva, United Nations Office at Nairobi, Nairobi, United Nations Office at Vienna, Vienna, and Peace Palace, The Hague (home to the International Court of Justice). The UN was established after World War II with Dumbarton Oaks Conference, the aim of preventing future world wars, succeeding the League of Nations, which was characterized as ineffective. On 25 April 1945, 50 governments met in San Francisco for United Nations Conference ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It is a unitary republic that consists of 14 governorates (subdivisions), and is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east and southeast, Jordan to the south, and Israel and Lebanon to the southwest. Cyprus lies to the west across the Mediterranean Sea. A country of fertile plains, high mountains, and deserts, Syria is home to diverse ethnic and religious groups, including the majority Syrian Arabs, Kurds, Turkmens, Assyrians, Armenians, Circassians, Albanians, and Greeks. Religious groups include Muslims, Christians, Alawites, Druze, and Yazidis. The capital and largest city of Syria is Damascus. Arabs are the largest ethnic group, and Mu ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Hama
, timezone = EET , utc_offset = +2 , timezone_DST = EEST , utc_offset_DST = +3 , postal_code_type = , postal_code = , area_code = Country code: 963 City code: 33 , geocode = C2987 , blank_name = Climate , blank_info = BSk , website = , footnotes = , name = Hama ( ar, حَمَاة ', ; syr, ܚܡܬ, ħ(ə)mɑθ, lit=fortress; Biblical Hebrew: ''Ḥamāṯ'') is a city on the banks of the Orontes River in west-central Syria. It is located north of Damascus and north of Homs. It is the provincial capital of the Hama Governorate. With a population of 854,000 (2009 census), Hama is the fourth-largest city in Syria after Damascus, Aleppo and Homs. The city is renowned for its sev ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Cartoonists Rights Network, International
Cartoonists Rights Network International (CRNI) is a non-profit organisation created in 1999 in the United States by Dr. Robert "Bro" Russell. It looks to protect the human rights and creative freedom of social and editorial cartoonists. CRNI "envisions a world where cartoonists are free from persecution and able to use their creativity as a powerful tool for communication" and "CRNI strengthens the interconnectedness of cartoonists around the world, campaigns to protect their human rights and defends those threatened as a result of their work." Robert Russell Courage in Editorial Cartooning Award Since its foundation in 1999, CRNI has presented a $1000 annual Courage in Editorial Cartooning Award "to a cartoonist who is in great danger or has demonstrated exceptional courage in the exercise of free speech rights, or both". The award was named after CRNI's founder Robert Russell on its retirement in 2019. Laureates References External links * Freedom of speech in th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Torture
Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts carried out by the state, but others include non-state organizations. Torture has been carried out since ancient times. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Western countries abolished the official use of torture in the judicial system, but torture continued to be used throughout the world. A variety of methods of torture are used, often in combination; the most common form of physical torture is beatings. Since the twentieth century, many torturers have preferred non-scarring or psychological methods to provide deniability. Torturers are enabled by organizations that facilitate and encourage their behavior. Most victims of torture are poor and marginalized people suspected of crimes, although torture against political prisoners or ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Albawaba
''Al Bawaba'' (البوابة, Arabic for "the portal" or "the gate") is a news, blogging and media website headquartered in Amman, Jordan with an office in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Since 2001 it publishes the Mena Report, which covers the business and economics in Arab world. Al Bawaba bills itself as "the largest independent producer and distributor of content in the Middle East... itha full-time staff of journalists and editors covering the Middle East and North Africa region's events and news". History and content ''Al Bawaba'' was launched in 2000, and is owned by Al Bawaba Middle East Limited based in Amman, Jordan. It had an office in Kuwait. The network consists of several web portals and websites, besides Al Bawaba including Al Bawaba Blogs, Al Bawaba Music (music site), Al Bawaba Games (Later Gaming Zone), Sharekna (online photo and video management service), SyndiGate (digital content syndication service). It publishes news stories related to the Middle East. It ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Syrian Cartoonists
Syrians ( ar, سُورِيُّون, ''Sūriyyīn'') are an Eastern Mediterranean ethnic group indigenous to the Levant. They share common Levantine Semitic roots. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend of both indigenous elements and the foreign cultures that have come to inhabit the region of Syria over the course of thousands of years. The mother tongue of most Syrians is Levantine Arabic, which came to replace the former mother tongue, Aramaic, following the Muslim conquest of the Levant in the 7th century. The conquest led to the establishment of the Caliphate under successive Arab dynasties, who, during the period of the later Abbasid Caliphate, promoted the use of the Arabic language. A minority of Syrians have retained Aramaic which is still spoken in its Eastern and Western dialects. In 2018, the Syrian Arab Republic had an estimated population of 19.5 million, which includes, aside from the aforementioned majority, ethnic minorities such a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |