Twenty Saudi editorial cartoonist have formed the Association of Saudi Cartoonists and Caricaturists to “protect its members against unjustified layoffs and oppression by appointing lawyers to defend them before the courts.” Founding member Hana Hajjar says there are 38 editorial cartoonists working Saudi Arabia.
The association’s chairman, Abdullah Sail, an editorial cartoonist at Al-Eqtisadiah newspaper, said the idea to establish the association was mooted three years ago and it saw the light thanks to the support of Abdul Aziz Al-Subail, a former official at the Ministry of Culture and Information.
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Sail said the Saudi cartoonists were able to portray the pulse of the society to a great extent without hurting anyone. “In the few times the cartoons were not published it was because they crossed the lines or they were away from the truth,” he said.