A/HRC/46/34 studio in Chile, projected the word hambre (hunger) on the Telefónica tower in Santiago on the same day poor residents, chanting “we are hungry”, protested the socioeconomic impacts of lockdown measures. Subsequently, the artists were denounced by a deputy and were subjected to threats and abuse on social media. 50 A subsequent projection of the word humanidad (“humanity”) was rendered illegible by a light from a truck reportedly protected by police. 21. Some artists have been targeted for work through which they critically assess official and public responses to the pandemic. For example, the Special Rapporteur has been deeply concerned about the jailing, on 5 May 2020, of Bangladeshi cartoonist Ahmed Kabir Kishore under the Digital Security Act of 2018, following the posting on Facebook of a series of his cartoons entitled “Life in the time of corona”, critical of the Government’s handling of the public health situation during the pandemic. Mr. Kishore is a diabetic and faces heightened risk from the virus.51 22. In April 2020, journalists Masoud Heydari and Hamid Haghjoo were arrested in the Islamic Republic of Iran in connection with a cartoon that had been posted on the Telegram channel of the Iranian Labor News Agency, on the grounds of “insulting the sanctity of Islam” and “insulting the Islamic Republic’s Supreme Leader”. The cartoon depicted the Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, as a nurse, and mocked cleric Abbas Tabrizian and Mehdi Sabili, who had claimed they had developed treatments for COVID-19.52 23. In Brazil, the Minister of Justice and Public Security, André Mendonça, called for the investigation of political cartoonist Renato Aroeira after he created a satirical cartoon criticizing President Jair Bolsonaro and the Government’s handling of the pandemic. Mr. Aroeira is charged under article 26 of the National Security Law 7170/1083, and could face a four-year prison sentence if found guilty of defaming the President. 53 24. The repression of artistic voices seeking to engage critically with issues relating to the pandemic and responses to it not only gravely undermines the rights of artists but also threatens societies as a whole. As the former Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression noted in his report on the COVID-19 pandemic, in the face of a global pandemic, the free flow of information, unhindered by threats and intimidation and penalties, protects life and health and enables and promotes critical social, economic, political and other policy discussions and decision-making.54 25. The Special Rapporteur’s concern about imprisoned cultural rights defenders and artists has heightened during the pandemic, with every such imprisonment possibly becoming a de facto death sentence due to the increased risk of contracting COVID-19 in prison and limited medical care.55 In accordance with COVID-19 guidance posted by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, States should urgently explore options for release to mitigate the risk of harm.56 The Special Rapporteur calls for all those imprisoned for their artistic or cultural work or their work as cultural rights defenders to be immediately released. She has drawn attention to a number of cases. For example, along with other special procedure mandate holders, she has urged the release of Yahaya Sharif-Aminu, a 22-year-old musician sentenced to death for blasphemy in Nigeria based on a song he 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 8 See https://lab.org.uk/chile-censored-humanity/. See also www.facebook.com/AtRiskArtists/videos/284091775981571/ (in Spanish). “UN experts: Bangladesh should release artist jailed over cartoons”, 16 December 2020. See also communication BGD 7/2020, available at https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadPublicCommunicationFile?gId=25739. See contribution from Freemuse and https://cpj.org/2020/04/iran-arrests-2-journalists-for-allegedlysharing-c/. See Cartoonists Rights Network International, “Cartoonists targeted in Bolsonaro’s Brazil”, and https://extra.globo.com/noticias/ministro-da-justica-pede-investigacao-de-charge-que-associabolsonaro-ao-nazismo-cita-lei-de-seguranca-nacional-24481117.html (in Portuguese). A/HRC/44/49, para. 6. WHO, “Preventing COVID-19 outbreak in prisons: a challenging but essential task for authorities” (23 March 2020). See COVID-19 guidance, people in detention and institutions, available at www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/COVID19Guidance.aspx.