Bangladesh: Cartoonist jailed for hurting muslim religious feelings.

Cartoonist jailed From The Gulf times by way of Creeping Sharia

A court in southwestern Bangladesh yesterday found a cartoonist guilty of “hurting the religious feelings of the Muslim community” and sentenced him to two months of hard labour,.

Arifur Rahman, 25, was tried in absence over the drawing, which sparked street clashes and riots in the capital Dhaka when it appeared in a satirical magazine two years ago.

Rahman, who was arrested but later bailed, said that he was unaware of the trial.

The cartoon appeared in Bengali newspaper Prothom Alo’s weekly and now defunct magazine Alpin.

“He has been given a two-month, hard labour jail sentence and a 500-taka ($7.40) fine,” said magistrate Kaisarul Islam, who presided over the case in the city of Jessore.

“I am not on the run and have not been told about the case,” Rahman said in Dhaka. “I will speak to my lawyers.”