(CNN) – Outraged Tunisians took to the streets by the hundreds Tuesday, angrily protesting the treatment of a woman who was allegedly raped by police officers — and then charged with public indecency when she filed a complaint.
“At best, charging the victim of a rape by police officers instead of protecting her from intimidation and stigma highlights the deep flaws on Tunisian law and criminal justice system,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, deputy Middle East and North Africa program director at Amnesty International.
“At worst, it is an insidious attempt to discredit a rape victim and protect those she accused of raping her.”
The case began September 3 when three police officers approached the woman and her fiance while they were in their car in the capital Tunis, the woman’s lawyer told Amnesty.
Two of the officers then raped the woman inside the car, while the third took her fiance to a nearby ATM to extort money from him, the woman claimed.
It was only after she filed a complaint against the officers — and they were charged with rape and extortion — that the officers said they found the couple in an “immoral position” in the car.
“This case first shocked public opinion since the innocent woman was raped by policemen,” said Salah Eddine El Jorshi of the Tunisian League of Human Rights. “But when the verdict was announced, we were shocked even more that they tried to take this to another level by targeting the victim herself.”
Authorities have not specified what they meant by “immoral position,” but the claim was later repeated by the country’s interior ministry, Amnesty said.
The couple was charged with “intentional indecent behavior,” which could yield up to six months in prison.
Both have denied the charges. Tuesday’s session is the second of what is expected to be several court hearings on the matter.
The decision to charge the woman incensed human rights groups like the Tunisian League of Human Rights and the Tunisian Association of Democratic Women, who called for protests outside the Tunis courthouse.
“We fear that the treatment afforded to the young woman will deter other victims of sexual abuse from coming forward and as they may fear being treated as the accused rather than the victim,” Amnesty’s Sahraoui said.
Because of the case, rights groups are taking a closer look at the Tunisian government and judiciary.
“This caused a major upheaval in Tunisian public opinion,” Jorshi said. “Some felt that maybe the woman was part of the crime, but others strongly felt that she was solely targeted because she was a woman.”
Tunisia is the birthplace of the Arab Spring, a series of revolutions that swept across northern African and the Middle East.
On December 17, 2010, Mohamed Bouazizi, a young Tunisian street vendor, set himself on fire in protest, sparking the movement that still ripples through the region.
Tunisia’s revolution ousted President Zine el Abidine Ben Ali and brought about a new government and political system, including a new draft constitution.
But challenges remain.
Last month, the government rejected a U.N. Human Rights Council’s recommendation to abolish discrimination against women in areas such as inheritance and child custody.
In addition, Tunisian authorities have charged journalists and human rights activists in recent months with “public immorality” and “public disorder” to restrict freedom of expression, rights group say [source]
that gif? my sentiment exactly.
this needs to end. i'm glad that people are angrily protesting because the world should know and act accordingly against the maltreatment of women around the world.
<img src="http://i1148.photobucket.com/albums/o569/mac_willi/http3A2F2F25mediatumblrcom2Ftumblr_matrs3k3Wz1rnz1gso3_250.gif" border="0" alt="Uploaded from the Photobucket Android App">
<img src="http://i1148.photobucket.com/albums/o569/mac_willi/tiredofBS.png" border="0" alt="Photobucket">
what's sadder about all of this is that there will of course be some dudes who will try to minimize this just like they minimize every issue that haunt and torment women.
disgusting…
It's easy to have an opinion about issues that women have to endure when you yourself will never have to. It's east to diminish someone else's pain when you don't have to feel it.. or when you are on the team dishing it out.
*whispers* I love you
I'm tellin
If you must.
iCant even…
<img src="http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e359/oOAntiisocialOo/Funny%20GIFs/office2.gif">
you know what? this ish right here harks back to 1776 when America had its independence and we were all still slaves. Tunisia sparked that Arab Spring thing and well half of their population is still obviously under the yoke of misogyny, oppression and extreme lack of human rights laws. You know freedom and dignity and equality for ALL. not just the menfolks.
Keep in mind, the USA is barely able to point fingers at Tunisia. Looka here http://rainn.org/get-information/statistics/repor… and try to tell me I'm wrong.
you know what Damelo? Me too, I really just can't neever *kicks over my damn chair*
::Applause.::
Well said, uepa.
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I can't even its just too much