CAIRO: Tunisian Nassma TV station owner Nabil Karoui is set to stand trial for “violating sacred values” and “disturbing the public order” after allowing the movie Persepolis to be aired on his station last October. The French movie, based on an Iranian autobiographical graphic novel by Marjane Satrapi, has been called “blasphemous” by Islamic critics because it shows a representation of God in a dream sequence where the film's protagonist imagines a conversation with God. “I will plead not guilty, of course. It is outrageous that it was I who appear, as people who burned my house were released,” Nabil el-Karoui told reporters. The airing of the film triggered a wave of violence, including an attempt to firebomb Karoui's home on October 14. Salafi activists also staged angry protests in front of the offices of the station. Additionally, Nessma TV reporter Sofiene Bin Hamida was physically assaulted on January 11 while covering a protest in front of the Ministry of Interior. “The new defenders of the moral order in Tunisia want to make an example out of me. We are in a moral dictatorship worse than under Ben Ali. Under the old system, I have never been threatened with death,” Karoui added. Karoui said he is “reasonably confident” of the outcome of the trial, but could face up to three years in jail if convicted for the charges. Human rights group Amnesty International has come forward to condemn the trial, calling it an affront to freedom of expression in a press release on January 21. “Putting Nabil Karoui on trial simply for screening a film which shows fantasy scenes of God is a very troubling development,” said Philip Luther, Amnesty International's interim Director for Middle East and North Africa. “The Tunisian authorities must uphold Nabil Karoui's right to freedom of expression and drop these charges immediately,” he continued. BM
***Manar Ammar contributed to this report. ShortURL: http://goo.gl/oJ23i Tags: Nabil Karoui, Nessma TV, Persepolis Section: Culture, Human Rights, Latest News, Media, Tunisia
