12 April 2012

Tunisian jailed for desecrating the Koran

A Tunisian court has sentenced a man to four years in prison for desecrating the Koran. Respect for religious symbols has become a matter of furious debate in Tunisia since the 2011 democratic revolution, which led to the election of an Islamist-led government that opponents fear is bent on gradually suppressing secular ways of life.

Prosecutors in the court case said the man, Ramzi Absha, had thrown copies of the Muslim holy book into lavatories at several mosques in the southern city of Ben Guerdane, according to the official news agency TAP. [Reuters] Read more