TUNIS, Tunisia: The trial for three European women charged with public indecency after demonstrating topless in front of Tunisia’s Palace of Justice began yesterday with lawyers representing several Islamic groups petitioning to delay the trial so they could join as plaintiffs.
The activists, two French women and one German, are members of the Ukrainian feminist group Femen. They appeared topless May 29 demanding the release of a Tunisian member of the group. They have been charged with public indecency and being a threat to public order.
Draped in traditional white Tunisian cloaks, the women appeared yesterday in the same court they had demonstrated. Outside, dozens protested against them.
Witnesses said one European woman held a sign supporting Femen but immediately drew the ire of the crowd and was hustled away by police.
Under the Tunisian legal system, outside groups can join a trial as “injured parties,” become privy to the case files and sue for damages. The addition of new plaintiffs would likely increase the duration of the trial.
The activists were calling for the release of Amina Sboui, a Tunisian member of Femen who scandalized the country by posting topless photos of herself protesting for women’s rights in March.
She later attempted another protest on May 19 in the religious center of Kairouan, where she was arrested.
Yesterday she appeared before an investigating judge in Kairouan who will decide if she is to be charged with public indecency and desecrating a cemetery. She was already convicted of carrying pepper spray.
