If you are a fun of expressing your love in public then you need to get this, Tunisia is one country that you won’t be allowed to do that unless you want to find yourself in prison.
One Frenchman and a Tunisian woman found themselves on the wrong side of the law after they were spotted in their car kissing. The two were convicted on appeal for “public indecency” after getting into an altercation with police who arrested them while hugging in a car.
Contrary to the prosecution, the couple maintained that they were not kissing and therefore were handed a lighter sentence than the original term that was handed to them on October 4 trial after public outrage in both social media and mainstream media.
The Frenchman was given four-month imprisonment for public indecency and refusing to obey police officers while his partner in crime was handed a two-month sentence on the first charge.
“It’s an independent decision,” a spokesman for the public prosecutors’ office, Sofiene Sliti said.
“What has been reported nationally and internationally is wrong — they weren’t arrested for a kiss, the couple was naked,” he added.
During the hearing, the Tunisian collapsed into tears after the court president read a police description saying a sexual act was in process when the couple was stopped on October 1.
According to the woman, her male counterpart had simply taken her into his arms when the plainclothes police stopped them and made them get out of their car.
While the Frenchman confirmed to the court that he had tried to film the police to make a complaint about their conduct.
“It is normal that he reacts badly when his fundamental rights were being violated,” said lawyer Ghazi Mrabet, whose client is accused of intimidating police.
A lot of defense lawyers argued for an acquittal for the couple. Most lawyers were working for free on the case which in turn triggered a public uproar in the country over morality campaigns and police behavior.
The defense team noted various lacunas in the case, including hearings in Arabic which were not understood by the Frenchman who was also of Algerian descent.
“This case highlights key problems with the judicial system and the police. Abuse of powers… lack of respect for citizens and their rights, attacks on individual liberty.
“The problem is that we have judges now who accept all these breaches and procedural problems,” she said before the judgment,” said former deputy Nadia Chaabane, who is a member of a group to support the couple.
