website reports that the President of Puntland, Abdirahman Sheikh Mohamed Farole had decided to sue the Somali-Canadian artist Amin Amir for libel. Puntland president was angered by Amin Amir’s cartoon showing a bespectacled man standing by a money-printing machine with the caption “Money factory of Farole”. The bubble quote with the cartoon reads :“ There is an economic problem in Puntland but no shortage of money.”
In a press conference held in Bosaso today , president Abdirahman Farole has shown a photocopied version of the Amin Amir’s cartoon, and said :
"We have appointed a solicitor to sue Amin Amir. I want him [Amin Amir] to produce evidence showing that we have permitted t printing money in Puntland. Amin lives in a country where there is law and order, and therefore we will sue him for libel.”
Puntland president’s decision to legally challenge Amin Amir’s cartoon poses many question about artistic freedom and responsible criticism. Amin Amir will find it hard to defend himself against libel suit because both the Puntland president’s surname and Puntland appear in the same cartoon. “ It was in my election programme to ban printing of money in Puntland,” Mr Farole told journalists. There is a possibility that the case may be settled outside a court.
Source: PuntlandPost
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