Iran's Political Scene Is Sketchy For Cartoonists
Iranian newspapers are rife with cartoons. They're a tradition and play a big role voicing criticism of the authoritarian regime.
Increasingly, though, Iranian cartoonists have been imprisoned, received death threats, or gone into exile because of their work.
Omid Memarian was a journalist in Iran. Arrested in 2004 for his writing, he was taken to prison, tortured and forced into a confession of guilt on national television. He fled the country to continue to work as a journalist in the United States.
Now he's edited a book published by the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. Sketches of Iran: A Glimpse from the Front Lines of Human Rights consists of 40 essays of political persecution paired with political cartoons from artists inside and outside of the country.
Memarian joined weekends on All Things Considered host Jacki Lyden to talk about the role of political cartoons in his home country.