JTMP Calls For Accountability For Attackers
08.30.2011– Last week, the beloved Syrian cartoonist Ali Ferzat was brutally attacked by Syrian security forces who broke his hands as a message to those who condemn the ruling regime. Ferzat was found beaten and dumped on a Damascus road. Justice Through Music, www.jtmp.org, a national non-profit that supports freedom of expression around the world, strongly condemned the attack in a statement today.
"Artists and musicians tend to be the canaries in the coal mine when it comes to sounding the alarm that something is wrong with government polices," said Justice Through Music director Brett Kimberlin. "That is why we have been very supportive of artists across the globe in their efforts to speak out against brutal regimes over the past ten years. And since the 2009 Green Movement in Iran, we have helped to give voice to artists all across the Mid-East. It is with this backdrop that today we call for accountability and fundamental change in Syria after the cowardly attack on Ali Ferzat. If, as suspected, the regime was behind the attack, it has no legitimacy to rule."
Ali Ferzat's website (will need Chrome to translate):
http://www.ali-ferzat.com/
