| Connect to share and comment |
Kristin DeasyApril 7, 2012 04:39
Tunisians convicted for posting nude prophet Mohammad cartoons on Facebook
Facebook case tackles freedom of speech in Tunisia's fledgling democracy.
Facebook case tackles freedom of speech in Tunisia's fledgling democracy.
Enlarge
A Facebook sign at the main entrance of the company headquarters in Menlo Park, California. The popular social-networking site claims more than 800 million active users. (Kimhiro Hoshino /AFP/Getty Images)
Two Tunisians accused of posting cartoons of prophet Mohammad in the nude on Facebook have been sentenced to seven years in jail, reported Reuters.
Justice ministry spokesman Chokri Nefti told Reuters they were convicted on charges of "violation of morality, and disturbing public order." One of the two men, Ghazi Beji, is on the run from the police while the other, Jabeur Mejri, is already in jail.
More from GlobalPost: Arab Spring doctors in the crosshairs
Agence-France Press said the case was brought by a lawyer who noticed the images shared online and filed a complaint in his town of Mahdia, also home to both the accused. For many Muslims, any depictions of the prophet Muhammad are forbidden under Islam. The March 28 verdict is reportedly being appealed.
Tunisia's ousting of longtime leader Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali last year sparked a wave of popular protests that took the Arab world by storm.
The country has since voted in a moderate Islamist government but is struggling with the differing demands of its deeply religious Muslim and secularist populations -- as outcry over the Facebook case shows.
Rights activist Bochra Bel Haj Hmida criticized the ruling Ennahda party over the Facebook case, telling AFP the accused "are just two young graduates who thought they were free to say they are atheists and thought they were protected on Facebook."
Some activists say there has been a crackdown on freedom of expression in Tunisia since its October elections, with one newspaper editor punished for printing a nude photo and a private television channel director charged with blasphemy for showing the award-winning film "Persepolis," which includes a depiction of Allah, according to Reuters.
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/africa/120407/tunisians-nude-prophet-mohammad-cartoons-facebook-convicted
.
-
Photo
Jaume Plensa's "Tel Aviv Man" at Art Basel, the world’s premier trade fair for leading galleries and collectors focused on modern and contemporary art.
- [/] -
Photo
The front of the Art Basel building. This year’s show attracted 303 of the world’s top galleries from 36 countries, showing the works of more than 2,500 artists. It drew more than 62,000 visitors, a new record.
- [/] -
Photo
Platform Gallery's Chen Wei and one of his "Recovery Room" series at Liste Young Artist's show. By the time the week was over he had sold more than 10 works, with prices ranging from $1,800 to nearly $3,000.
- [/] -
Photo
A performance spectator admires some of the pieces at Basel Art.
- [/] -
Photo
A performance piece at Basel Scope, done by an unidentified nearly naked man who moved in slow motion up and down the aisles dressed like a Greek version of Mars, the god of war.
- [/] -
Photo
A performance piece at Scope. The man clutched a staff, on which a plastic container for motor oil with the BP logo was impaled.
- [/] -
Photo
An installation piece at Basel Art.
- [/] -
Photo
An installation piece with paper tubes at Basel Art.
- [/] -
Photo
A gallery scene at the Scope Basel show.
- [/] -
Photo
A sculpture of Sperone Westwater Gallery's employee, Michael Short, by Evan Penny.
- [/] -
Photo
Evan Penny's sculpture of Michael Short.
- [/] -
Photo
A woman views Jaume Plensa's "Tel Aviv Man," (Study) 2010, Galerie Lelong, Paris.
- [/] -
Photo
"Medusa marinara," 1997 — a photographic representation of the Medusa in spaghetti and tomato sauce by New York-based Brazilian artist, Vic Muniz.
- [/] -
Photo
Children play around Ai Weiwei's piece, "Field," 2010.
- [/] -
Photo
Heimo Sobernig's "Black Cube" sits on display outside outside.
- [/] -
Photo
A piece by Yayoi Kusama titled "Pumkin."
- [/]
Follow us: