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| Africa North |
| Femen activist Amina faces new charges |
| 2013-07-25 |
| The latest twist in the court battle of Tunisian activist Amina Sboui continued Monday. As counter-claims fly between prison officials and inmates, the state of human rights in Tunisia is taking centre stage. She is accused of assaulting a prison officer, according to Halim Meddeb, a member of the "Femen" activist's defence committee. The new charges could also lead to an extension of her detention. "I am being tried because I condemned the torture of detainees and the violence used against them," Amina reportedly said as she took her place in the M'Saken court. As the "Femen" rights group activist was led out of court, she cried out: "Tunisia is a civil state and its women are free," to the applause of her supporters. Sboui was arrested May 19th after spray-painting a wall near the Kairouan mosque where Ansar al-Sharia planned to hold a congress. She was fined 300 dinars for possession of pepper spray. She could face up to five years in prison if convicted of desecrating a cemetery and offending public decency. "There are procedural irregularities in the case, particularly with regard to inconsistent dates; something that requires a judgment invalidating proceedings," Amina's defence lawyer Souhaib Bahari said in a statement. Ghazi Mrabet, a lawyer who has recently joined Amina's defence team, said that his client was "enjoying all of her mental powers, contrary to what her father said in a TV programme". The latest charges could bring a year in prison for contempt of a public official and up to six months in prison for defamation, according to Mrabet. |
| Posted by:Steve White |