Dutch cartoonist arrested for “discriminatory work”

nekschot toons
A Dutch cartoonist who works under the pseudonym Gregorius Nekschot has been arrested for publishing work considered discriminatory against Muslims and “people with dark skins”.

From the small selection of cartoons available on his website, it seems clear that the “dark skins” allusion is merely an attempt to smear the anti-totalitarian artist with the charge of racism.

The arrest, overnight incarceration, house-search and confiscation of work by Dutch police are a result of a complaint made in 2005 by imam Abdul Jabbar van de Ven.

(Thanks, Feòrag)


3 Responses to “Dutch cartoonist arrested for “discriminatory work””

  1. Joe says:

    While obviously I’m happy to support Nekschot’s freedom of speech, I’m at a loss to see how anyone who produces shite straight from the pages of Der Sturmer can call himself ‘anti-totalitarian’.

  2. Feòrag says:

    I’m not sure that the cartoons we have here bear any resemblance to the contents of Der Sturmer. The second one in particular, makes it perfectly clear that the individual being mocked is an extremist bampot, and not a run of the mill Muslim.

  3. Jimbo says:

    This discussion shows exactly why the criminal investigation makes no sense whatsoever. If one feels that insulting a minority should be punishable by law (which I don’t agree with, but anyway), even then, a cartoon can be interpreted as insulting a minority, or quite the opposite, it can be interpreted as making fun of a viewpoint that is insulting to a minority. As a form of satire, cartoons do not express opinions per se.