While in Frace for this year’s Cartooning for Peace meeting, I had the honor of sitting down and chatting with Syrian cartoonist Ali Ferzat. Ferzat was beaten and had both of his hands broken by government thugs in Damascus last August, as part of a brutal crackdown of the Syrian Uprising. The beating came as the subject of his cartoons changed from general ridicule of Syria’s much-maligned political system to specific caricatures of President Bashar Assad and his inner circle.

Ferzat has since recovered, and is now living in exile in Kuwait.  I spoke to him about the attack and his outlook on cartooning in countries with oppressive regimes, including Syria. It’s also worth noting that he seems to be no fan of President Obama…

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HU0i0Pda9Zk]

Here are a handful of Ferzat’s cartoons. To view more, check out his Arab-language Web site or visit his Facebook page.