Trial of Ghazi Beji and Jabeur Mejri explained

Ghazi Beji [1] and Jabeur Mejri are Tunisian citizens sentenced on 28 March 2012 to 7.5 years' imprisonment for "transgressing morality, defamation and disrupting public order" after posting naked caricatures of Muhammad to Facebook.[2] Mejri faced trial in court, while his friend Beji was convicted in absentia, having fled to Europe to escape prosecution.[3] Mejri's appeal of his sentence was denied on 25 June 2012. Mejri's lawyer objected to his client being denied medical evaluation, describing him as "mentally unstable" and unemployed for the past six years.[4]

Initially, only a few organisations discussed the affair, namely the League of Tunisian Humanists, Reporters Without Frontiers, and other independent militants.[5] [6] the Moroccan Human Rights activist Kacem El Ghazzali equally reported the case on his blog,[7] later on he mentioned Jabeur Mejri's arrest at the UN Human Rights council in Geneva.[8] Amnesty International named the two men prisoners of conscience, "convicted solely for their peacefully held views", and described the case as one of the Tunisian government's "mounting attacks on freedom of expression". The organization called on Tunisia to drop the sentences against both men immediately.[9] The International Freedom of Expression Exchange described the sentencing as "an extremely disturbing event", naming it as part of a pattern of "repeated attacks against journalists, artists and women who commit the 'crime' to express their opinions freely".[10]

Reuters also described the case as feeding charges that the Islamist leaders who had taken power in Tunisia following the January 2011 Tunisian Revolution were suppressing free speech.[11] The Associated Press described the case as having "shocked many Tunisians" and as "a sign of the new importance of Islam in Tunisia".[12] Deutsche Welle cited it as an instance of the disillusionment of Tunisian bloggers following the revolution, writing, "Their revolution appears to have failed." One blogger described the case as an example of how "selective" government prosecutors had become, observing that calls for violence or bombings on Facebook were never similarly prosecuted.

Jabeur Mejri was released from prison in January 2014 having served almost two years.[13]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Tunisian Atheists sentenced to seven and a half years of prison . Kacem El Ghazzali . 1 April 2012 . Atheistica . 1 April 2012.
  2. Web site: Tunisia Jails Two Men Over Prophet Caricatures on Facebook . https://archive.today/20130118141627/http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-04-06/tunisia-jails-two-men-over-prophet-caricatures-on-facebook . dead . January 18, 2013 . Jihen Laghmari . 6 April 2012 . Bloomberg . 1 July 2012.
  3. Web site: Bloggers criticize Tunisia's failed revolution . Arne Lichtenberg . 27 May 2012 . Deutsche Welle . 1 July 2012.
  4. News: Jailed Tunisian loses appeal over Facebook Prophet Mohammad cartoons . Agence France-Presse . 25 June 2012 . Al Arabiya News . 1 July 2012.
  5. Web site: Tunisia: Two atheist friends convicted for blasphemy . 5 April 2012 . Index on Censorship . 15 October 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20131015225316/http://uncut.indexoncensorship.org/2012/04/tunisia-two-atheist-friends-convicted-for-blasphemy/ . 15 October 2013 .
  6. Web site: Tunisia: Two men sentenced to seven years for blasphemy . 6 April 2012 . Digital Journal . 15 October 2013.
  7. Web site: Tunisian Atheists sentenced to seven and a half years of prison « Atheistica . atheistica.com . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120405123224/http://atheistica.com/2012/04/01/tunisian-atheists-sentenced-to-seven-and-a-half-years-of-prison/ . 2012-04-05.
  8. Web site: Humanists International.
  9. Web site: Tunisia: Mounting attacks on freedom of expression . 24 April 2012 . Amnesty International . 1 July 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160405015819/http://www.amnesty.org.au/news/comments/28465 . 5 April 2016 .
  10. "Un événement extrêmement inquiétant ... des attaques répétées contre les journalistes, les artistes et les femmes qui commettent le « crime » d'exprimer librement leur opinion". Web site: Le TMG de l'IFEX s'inquiète des attaques répétées qui ciblent les manifestants, les médias, les acteurs et les universitaires . French . 10 April 2012 . International Freedom of Expression Exchange . 1 July 2012.
  11. News: Tunisians jailed for Facebook cartoons of Prophet . Tarek Amara . 6 April 2012 . Reuters . 1 July 2012.
  12. Web site: Tunisia court upholds cartoon blasphemy conviction . 27 June 2012 . CBS News . 1 July 2012.
  13. Web site: Jabeur Mejri Finally Released from Prison, According to Lawyer - Tunisia Live : Tunisia Live . www.tunisia-live.net . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140307050707/http://www.tunisia-live.net/2014/03/04/jabeur-mejri-finally-released-from-prison-according-to-lawyer/ . 2014-03-07.

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