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| Version 4 | Version 5 |
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| Jailed Indian cartoonist freed on bail | Jailed Indian cartoonist freed on bail |
| (4 months later) | |
| A political cartoonist who was jailed on sedition charges for drawings that mocked corruption in the Indian government has been released on bail. | A political cartoonist who was jailed on sedition charges for drawings that mocked corruption in the Indian government has been released on bail. |
| Supporters cheered and waved flags as Aseem Trivedi walked out of Mumbai's Arthur Road jail on Wednesday after a high court said there was no need to hold him in prison. | Supporters cheered and waved flags as Aseem Trivedi walked out of Mumbai's Arthur Road jail on Wednesday after a high court said there was no need to hold him in prison. |
| Trivedi had earlier refused bail until all charges against him were dropped. The local government has promised to review the charges against him. Sedition is punishable by up to life in prison. | Trivedi had earlier refused bail until all charges against him were dropped. The local government has promised to review the charges against him. Sedition is punishable by up to life in prison. |
| Trivedi told reporters after his release: "When you hear the word 'sedition' you are transported to 1857 where there is a king and citizens are afraid to criticise him. We must rethink the law." | Trivedi told reporters after his release: "When you hear the word 'sedition' you are transported to 1857 where there is a king and citizens are afraid to criticise him. We must rethink the law." |
| India's sedition laws date to the 1800s when the country was a British colony. They have been used in the past to punish rights activists despite a landmark 1962 supreme court ruling that sedition required incitement to violence, as it would otherwise violate the constitutional right to freedom of speech. | India's sedition laws date to the 1800s when the country was a British colony. They have been used in the past to punish rights activists despite a landmark 1962 supreme court ruling that sedition required incitement to violence, as it would otherwise violate the constitutional right to freedom of speech. |
| Trivedi was arrested on Sunday based on a political activist's complaint that his cartoons insulted the country. The arrest highlighted the government's increased sensitivity to criticism. | Trivedi was arrested on Sunday based on a political activist's complaint that his cartoons insulted the country. The arrest highlighted the government's increased sensitivity to criticism. |
| A day later, amid protests by free-speech advocates and opposition parties, RR Patel, the home minister of Maharashtra state, said the government would review Trivedi's case. | A day later, amid protests by free-speech advocates and opposition parties, RR Patel, the home minister of Maharashtra state, said the government would review Trivedi's case. |
| Trivedi was one of two winners of the 2012 Courage in Editorial Cartooning Award by the US-based Cartoonists Rights Network International. His cartoons mocked corruption among Indian politicians and were displayed at a Mumbai protest in December by the anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare. | Trivedi was one of two winners of the 2012 Courage in Editorial Cartooning Award by the US-based Cartoonists Rights Network International. His cartoons mocked corruption among Indian politicians and were displayed at a Mumbai protest in December by the anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare. |
| In 2010 Indian police sought to charge the Booker Prize winner and social activist Arundhati Roy with sedition for questioning India's claim over the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir. | In 2010 Indian police sought to charge the Booker Prize winner and social activist Arundhati Roy with sedition for questioning India's claim over the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir. |
| Also that year, Binayak Sen, a doctor and activist working with tribal poor in India's Chhattisgarh state, was convicted of sedition and sentenced to life in prison. The local government said Sen used his medical work as a front to support the cause of a Maoist insurgency in that state. He was later released on bail by India's top court and is appealing against his conviction. | Also that year, Binayak Sen, a doctor and activist working with tribal poor in India's Chhattisgarh state, was convicted of sedition and sentenced to life in prison. The local government said Sen used his medical work as a front to support the cause of a Maoist insurgency in that state. He was later released on bail by India's top court and is appealing against his conviction. |
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