Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico Sues Cartoonist Martin Sutovec



Darryl Cagle has the best write-up -- maybe the primary write-up -- on news that the Prime Minister of Slovakia, Robert Fico, has sued a cartoonist named Martin Sutovec for a cartoon making fun of the politician for having no spine. The original- and English-language versions are above and below. Cagle is one of Sutovec's distributors.

Cagle points out the three things that need to be pointed out here. First is that politicians like Fico tend to make a habit of suing media sources for compensation after critical coverage, and that they frequently win -- whether through a cultural tendency to discount the positives of satire, the influence of a powerful sitting politician on the courts or a little bit of both tends to be debated. Second is that the suing of cartoonists by major political figures is pretty common in places like Algeria and Turkey, and that this can be an obvious and understandably huge hassle for the cartoonists in getting their work out there and read. Third is that much has been made about Slovakia joining the EU and its general status vis-a-vis the west. Turkey's membership in various Western organizations was cast into doubt for its anti-press activities, and this could alter how people view the "new" Slovakia.


 
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