Tunisian prosecuted for online Koran parody

A Tunisian court charged a student with offending common decency and incitement to violence last Wednesday after she shared a parody of the Koran online, her lawyer told journalists.

Emna Chargui, 26, made a satirical post on Facebook on 4 May entitled "The Corona Sura", mimicking the style of the Islamic holy book in talking about the global pandemic.

"There is no difference between kings and slaves, follow science and ignore the traditions," one passage read.

Prosecutors opened an investigation and summoned her to a Tunis police station on 5 May, according to her lawyer Ines Trabelsi.

On Wednesday, she appeared in a Tunis court where a prosecutor pressed charges for attacking the sanctity of religion, attacking morality and inciting violence, Trabelsi said. According to Trabelsi, the charges were brought under Article 6 of Tunisia's constitution, which mandates the state to defend religion.

The 2014 constitution – the product of a historic compromise between Tunisian secular and religious parties – guarantees freedom of belief and conscience, while committing the state to "protecting the sacred and preventing it from being undermined".

Online some Tunisians denounced Chargui's post as an irresponsible provocation, while others criticised the prosecution as an attack on freedom of expression. One civil society representative said she worried the prosecution showed authorities intended to "silence the people".

"The summons by police of a Tunisian citizen for a text that copied the style of the Koran is enough to make you laugh... or cry," said Tunisian university professor Olfa Youssef.

The National Observatory for the Defence of the Civil Character of the State urged respect for freedom of expression. Chargui remains at large and is due in court again on 28 May, her lawyer said.    (AFP)