To All Cartoonists of Cuba and the World 
This past February 14 coincided with the 39^th anniversary of the JR humor supplement DDT, in which awards were presented in the international humor biennial at the International Press Center in Havana
After deliberating via e-mail, the jury —made up of DDT staff and friends (cartoonist Sait Munzur, from Turkey on visit in Havana, Andrés Vázquez de Sola, from Spain; Guillermo Bastías, from Chile; and John Lent from the United States) reached the conclusion to grant the awards to: 
Third Place.Orlando Cuellar from, Colombia 
Second Place.Mohammad Amin Aghaei, from Iran 
First Place.Mahmood Nazari, from Iran 
Grand Prize.Seyran Caferli, from Azerbaijan 

Considering that the call for the 2008 DDT Biennial clearly stated that the works in contest had to be original works, I have decided, as the director of this biennial, to withdraw the First Place award granted to Iranian cartoonist Mahmood Nazari, since his work coincides in concept with the work awarded at the Aydin Dogan contest held in 1997 of cartoonist Muhsin Omurca. 

Our perception of original work includes both the figurative and the formal aspect. 

This incident will not affect the success of the biennial, which has been well received by the public coming to see the works on exhibition and a wide support from many friends taking part in it. 

May this explanation help highlight the transparency and professionalism of the jury. Works can be seen at:
 http://www.juventudrebelde.cu/cuba/2008-02-14/premios-de-la-bienal-internacional-del-dedete-2008/ 
Thanks very much
And cordial Cuban greetings. 
Lic Adán Iglesias Toledo
Director of the 2008 DDT Biennial.
dedetecontes@jrebelde.cip.cu