One of the Best Charlie Hebdo Tweets You'll See, from Iranian Cartoonist in Exile

Iranian cartoonist Kianoush Ramezani was forced to flee his home country during the Green Revolution protests of 2009, and was granted political asylum in France. He told CNN’s Jake Tapper today that the murder of his friends and colleagues at Charlie Hebdo will not stop his own provocation of Islamists in his own cartoons. And he tweeted:

Islamist dickheads killed my colleagues, my friends, Muslims and Jews, if you don’t condemn this, you’re not my friend! #JeSuisCharlie

— Kianoush (@KianoushR) January 12, 2015

Ramezani had told his Charlie Hebdo friends to be careful, because he of all people knows Islamic fundamentalists “never forget.”

“In my opinion, freedom of expression is our heritage, we need to protect it. Do we need to protect the offices of Charlie Hebdo for example, or all newspapers in the same way as the (French) National Assembly? I think yes, as of today yes we do. It’s expensive, but it’s the price we have to pay,” he told Euronews.

Ramezani elaborated on the dangers of being a cartoonist in Iran to online magazine Sampsonia Way last year. “The most dangerous theme is Islam, its symbols, and the prophet. It’s also dangerous to cover the leaders of the Islamic regime of Iran, especially the mullahs. If, by accident, a cartoonist offends any of these, he or she could easily be executed for insulting Islam or the revolution,” he said.

“I think for neutral cartoonists it’s becoming less dangerous. For governmental cartoonists it’s becoming perfect as they are getting bigger budgets and more power from the authority. And finally for the exiled cartoonists it’s becoming more dangerous because of the harassment, cyber-attacks, and even some physical risks, even if they’re living outside of the country.”