Cartoonist Arif sentenced to two months

A Jessore court has handed down two months of rigorous imprisonment to cartoonist Arifur Rahman of satire magazine Alpin, a weekly publication of the daily Prothom Alo. UPDATES

Jessore, Nov 12 (bdnews24.com)–A Jessore court has handed down two months of rigorous imprisonment to cartoonist Arifur Rahman of satire magazine Alpin, a weekly publication of the daily Prothom Alo.

Judge Kaisarul Islam of the Judicial Magistrate's Court of Jessore in the ruling on Thursday said Arif will also have to pay Tk 500 in fine or another seven days in prison.

The verdict was given in the case regarding publication of sacrilegious cartoon in the magazine in Sep 2007.

"Arif is at large. The verdict was given in his absence," his lawyer Alamgir Siddiqi told bdnews24.com.

However, Arif told bdnews24.com that he knew nothing about this case.

He said treason and blasphemy cases against him have been dismissed in court.

The case was filed by ATM Shoaib, the imam of the Jessore Collectorate Mosque, at the Executive Magistrate's Court on Oct 23, 2007. The case alleged that the irreverent cartoon on prophet Hazrat Muhammad had hurt religious feelings.

Prothom Alo publisher Mahfuz Anam, editor Motiur Rahman and Arif were accused in the case. Later, the court issued arrest warrant only against Arif.

Security officials arrested Arif on Sep 18, 2007 after hard-line Islamic groups protested against one of his cartoons.

Authorities charged the young cartoonist with "hurting the religious sentiments of the people" and ordered 30 days' detention. Arif's detention was later extended by three months.

The government confiscated all copies of the now-defunct satire magazine in which the cartoon was printed.

Amid a protest by Islamic groups, Prothom Alo's editor and publisher apologised for printing the cartoon, and fired the cartoonist.

On Feb 4, the High Court ruled Arif's detention illegal and ordered his immediate release. He was freed on Mar 20 this year.

The cartoonist's arrest and detention also earned criticism from local and international rights groups.

In January, human-rights watchdog Amnesty International demanded Arif's release, terming him "a prisoner of conscience".

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