(CNN) -- In 2003, former newspaper editor Ali Reza Eshraghi made a mistake that cost him his freedom: he published a cartoon. The sketch in question, a drawing from 1937 depicting U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt's pressure on the U.S. Supreme Court, seemed an innocuous choice for the Iranian newspaper, Hayat No. But Iran's Special Court for the Clergy disagreed. According to Reporters Without Borders it ruled that that the cartoon's depiction of Roosevelt looked suspiciously like the Islamic Republic's founder Ayatollah Khomeini and was insulting to his memory. The court shut down Hayat No, and Eshraghi spent nearly two months in prison.
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Iranian cartoonists satirizing political system face great pressure
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Book of Iranian political cartoonists' work published to honor their role in society
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Satire used when straightforward expression is difficult or suppressed
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More satirists and comedians appearing across the region, says U.S. Arabic comedian Dean Obeidallah
"Over the past ten years I've been working as a journalist both in @placeholder and out of Iran, and I've seen political cartoons have a very strong impact on political discussions and social discussions," he explained.