Pictures caused mass demonstrations across Muslim world
BELARUS - Belarus on Friday jailed for three years an editor of an independent newspaper who reproduced cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed that first appeared in Denmark in 2005 and caused mass demonstrations across the Muslim world.
The 12 cartoons portraying the founder of Islam, including one showing the prophet with a bomb in his turban, outraged Muslims who saw them as blasphemous. More than 50 people died in protests across the world the following year.
Belarussian authorities shut down the "Zgoda" (Consensus) paper in March 2006, around the time when other European journals began reprinting the cartoons. The security service, still known by its Soviet-era name, the KGB, began an investigation after Muslims in the ex-Soviet state complained.
Editor Alexander Sdvizhkov was sentenced to three years in jail in a closed session of the court for incitement of religious and national hatred.
"May God and the holy cross be with us," Sdvizhkov said afterwards. His lawyer said she would appeal.
Muslims constitute about two or three percent of the 10 million residents of the country wedged between Russia and three members of the European Union. The Muslim community had called for leniency in the case.
Miklos Haraszti, media freedom representative for the 56-nation Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, protested against Sdvizhkov's jailing, calling the case against him "shocking" and saying he should be freed.
"Persecution of journalists for trying to inform the public on important issues is a misuse of hate speech laws," Haraszti said in a statement from Vienna. "In fact the Belarus government has used the international controversy around the cartoons as a pretext to eliminate a critical voice from public life."
President Alexander Lukashenko is accused by the West of ruling the country with an iron grip, jailing opponents, shutting down independent media and rigging polls, including his own re-election to a third term in 2006.
posted
Absolutely wonderful!!!! But I dont understand why muslims asked for leniency towards this evil cartoon editor, surely he should be stoned or have his head chopped off for this?
Down with cartoons!!! Garfield is next, all cats should rise up against the hateful portrayal by the evil cartoonists!! Posts: 15090 | From: http://www.egyptalk.com/forum/ | Registered: Jul 2004
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quote:Originally posted by Somewhere in the sands: "In fact the Belarus government has used the international controversy around the cartoons as a pretext to eliminate a critical voice from public life."
Freedom of Speech in Belarus
An action under the motto: "Freedom of speech in Belarus"" began in Poland today .The action is initiated by Amnesty International and aims at bringing closer the issue of human rights violation in Belarus. The Belarus opposition and independent journalists suffer repressions from the regime of president Lukashenko, who is in power since 1994.Independendt media are shut down and journalists are sentenced to prison or forced labour. Penalties for offending the president are common. The action in Poland is joined by popular dailies like Gazeta Wyborcza or Rzeczpospolita, as well as internet portals which blacked out their front pages in protest of the gross violation of press freedom by the authoritarian government of Lukashenko .Photographs of thousands of Belarus politicians and journalists who had suffered repressions in Belarus can be found in the dailies and will be displayed in Polish cities and at the EU headquarters in Brussels as part of the campaign. http://www.data.minsk.by/belarusnews/112005/83.htmlPosts: 3188 | Registered: Feb 2007
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If we are not allowed to critise Islam, maybe we should praise it?
Mohammed having sex with a 9 year old girl when he was 54 is errr, an example for us all??!
Mohammed overseeing the deaths of the Qurayza men and boys was beautiful. Especially the part where they had their hands tied and were then beheaded.
Killing Apostates is fair and just.
Women who are raped need 4 male Muslim witnesses (of good character) to testify on their behalf before they can prove it. There is no more just law on the planet
The paedophilia one is a bit tricky. Of course, no-one actually wants to advocate sex with children, but to condemn it must surely be an insult to the great Prophet who is an example to us all, in every aspect of his life for all eternity?
Posts: 2 | Registered: Jan 2008
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