Juan Cole: Under European Pressure, Tunisia suspends Sentence of 3 Protesters who Bared Breasts
A Tunisian court has given suspended sentences to three European members of Femen (2 French, 1 German) who had bared their breasts in public to protest the jailing of a Tunisian woman who had made her statement in the same way. They had been found guilty of public indecency and sentenced to four months in jail, a verdict left unaltered by the suspended sentence.
Tunisia got enormous pressure from the European Union, France and Germany to let the women go. Those countries are major aid donors to the North African country. Germany said that Tunisia needed to change its laws regarding freedom of speech.
Uncharacteristically, the Femen members apologized for their half-nude protest and promised not to repeat it, drawing a condemnation from the Femen organization itself (which is based in Ukraine), saying that the three must have been put under severe duress. One member said she didn’t realize how shocking her act would be for the Tunisian public.
Femen members in Brussels protested the verdict against the Weld15 verdict by swarming the limousine of visiting Tunisian prime minister Ali Larayedh, who is from the ruling Ennahda or Renaissance Party (Muslim fundamentalist).
http://www.juancole.com/2013/06/suspends-sentence-protesters.html
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C'mon....lighten up.
At least the woman on the right wore the appropriate outfit.
