Femen member Amina Tyler on trial in Tunisia

[riderinthestorm]

Source: BBC

Amina Tyler is charged with carrying an "incendiary object". She appeared in court smiling, dressed in a white robe.
...
Ms Tyler emerged from hiding earlier this month in Kairouan, where she wrote "Femen" on a wall near the city's main mosque.
...
Her lawyers argue that a 19th-Century charge of carrying an incendiary object should not apply to a can of pepper spray she says she had been given by a foreign journalist for her own protection.

Lawyers saying they represented the city called for her to face the more serious charge of threatening public security. They were turned down by the judge.

Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-22714130

[maddezmom]

1. She is braver than I am...

I would find a way out of the country before something else happens.

[riderinthestorm]

2. Agreed. Arrested for pepper spray?! Amina was protesting against Tunisia's societal regression

The political stampede in Tunisia by Islamists as well.

And now this.

Doesn't bode well...

[HiPointDem]

16. actually, it looks like she wrote grafitti on a world heritage site. thus the angry crowd.

provocation, not persecution.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022923504#post15

[cali]

31. your hate for her shows.

[bettyellen]

34. it appears to be indifference. I know that's what I feel. Trying to figure out how in the world

what she has been doing amounts to much. People are rabidly supporting her graffiting the word Femen, really? Why is that interesting, it's like it's a brand name? Meaningless to most.

[HiPointDem]

35. i don't hate her at all. i have no idea why she's doing what she's doing. i do dislike the

manipulative news accounts that omit rather significant pieces of information.

i also dislike femen and don't see it as feminist, and personally, i think it's acting as a agent of political forces behind the scenes. of course, that's just my speculation, just as other posters speculated that the woman's father was some kind of reactionary islamic daddy.

i do rather hate being told i 'hate' her by people who completely ignore the *facts* i've brought to light, facts which kind of contradict the narrative line they're pushing. but that's par for the course.

[redqueen]

3. Glad the authorities banned those ultra-conservative Muslims from having a conference there.

And that the judge threw out the one charge against her.

It'll be interesting to see how the 'incendiary device' charge goes.

[HiPointDem]

27. she got a $182 fine. already determined.

300 dinars.

The Court of First Instance sentenced Amina Kairouan FEMEN-Tunisia, Thursday, May 30, 2013, fined for burning object 300dinars detention.

Amina FEMEN fined 300 dinars

The Amina appeared before the Court of First Instance of Kairouan to answer two charges, including possession of a burning object and desecration of a cemetery.

http://www.tuniscope.com/index.php/article/26142/actualites/societe/amina-amende-500621

[redqueen]

41. Thanks. nt

[idwiyo]

4. K&R

[HappyMe]

5. Pepper spray?

[riderinthestorm]

6. Yup. Clearly this is a trumped up charge to get her arrested. Sucks.

Another kick for all those feminists who thought Femen protests aren't "serious" enough because its all about stupid shit like exposing breasts....



Amina demonstrates that she knew exactly how to provoke the PTB in her country to spotlight the situation there. Obviously she is now a target that government wants to silence.

Scary.

Hope she makes it out safely.

[HiPointDem]

13. it's unclear what actually happened imo.

Ms Tyler emerged from hiding earlier this month in Kairouan, where she wrote "Femen" on a wall near the city's main mosque...

Ms Tyler was detained by police amid clashes and tear gas as an angry crowd gathered.


an 'angry crowd' gathered and the police used tear gas because she wrote 'femen' (something most people probably wouldn't even know of) on a wall? really?

did she write it on a generic wall or on a mosque wall?

On edit: it's beginning to look like she wrote her little 'protest' graffiti on a world heritage site.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=2925712

if so, i don't think she's being persecuted. i think she's provoking arrest deliberately.

if i went to the wailing wall, the great wall of china, the lincoln memorial and graffittied them, would i get attention from the police?

i bet i would, and nothing to do with feminism.

[bettyellen]

30. Hope she makes it out safely. Or disapointed it was a slap on the wrist?

[riderinthestorm]

46. Uhm, I wish she hadn't been arrested and tried at all. Period.

Why would you possibly assume I'd be "disappointed" in the judgement?

I think Amina's honing her own set of chops as a Muslim feminist activist. She's starting her journey. I think she's pretty fascinating since she's taking such a different tactic to highlight what's happening in Tunisia than other women activists in that region.

[riderinthestorm]

7. I just have to point out that Femen was the topic du jour a month ago. Amina was hot.

Now that its obvious her sad fate doesn't inspire keyboard warriors, I just can't give credence to "feminist" DUers who presume to care about this kind of shit.

It was convenient to marginalize her because she bared her boobs. And then it became some kind of "femiinist cred" to slam Femen because of their methods.

But NOW??

This is real. This young activist is facing real persecution for standing up to the growing Islamist power in Tunisia.

Where are the true believers now?

I'm actually ashamed of DU for letting this drop into DU purgatory. This is a worthy discussion. Nobody seems to want to step up to the plate.

Shameless K&R,

[HiPointDem]

14. what actually happened here? it's completely unclear from the article.

she wrote 'femen' on a wall and an angry crowd gathered, followed by tear gas?

something is missing from this story.

[backscatter712]

8. Ah, but we have to give allowances to their beautiful culture!

Never mind that women are forced to wear body bags, if we dare criticize, we're a bunch of bigots!

[HiPointDem]

17. tunisian women aren't forced to wear anything. and she wrote grafitti on a world heritage site.

do you think i'd get any police attention if i wrote grafitti on the lincoln memorial?

[Donald Ian Rankin]

22. I don't think you'd be charged with carrying an incendiary object for pepper spray.

Women in Tunisia still face significant legal discrimination in various fields. "Not as bad on women's rights as most other Islamic countries" is still a long, long way from "acceptable".

[HiPointDem]

23. i might be charged with many things worse. a $182 fine was the punishment.

[LadyHawkAZ]

9. But... but...

I was reliably informed that it was a progressive country and she was in no danger from the state! Obviously this story is a fake, put out by Femen for nefarious imperialistic purposes.

wait for it...

wait for it...

wait for it...

[JVS]

11. +1

[HiPointDem]

19. well, it certainly omits some pretty pertinent info. you didn't wonder why an angry crowd

would gather because somebody writes one word on a wall?

hint: it's not because that word is 'femen'.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022923504#post15

[bettyellen]

28. a 182.00 fine puts her in danger? the punishment for the graffiti would have- and should have - been

much harsher. It seems they are treating her with kid gloves.

[H2O Man]

10. Recommended.

Important OP.

[bettyellen]

12. I thought I read they were being easy on her for not going after her for desecration of a tomb?

which is possible 4X the sentence that carrying pepper spray is?

[HiPointDem]

18. not just your random cemetery/mosque either.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022923504#post15

[JI7]

24. so it could actually be for the desecration but in order to make the sentence not as harsh

they are making it officially about the pepper spray.

they also banned the islamic fundies she was protesting against.

[HiPointDem]

15. Here is the mosque and cemetery where she wrote 'femen,' i guess.

"She went into hiding because of death threats but re-emerged in Kairouan, where she allegedly scrawled "Femen" on a cemetery wall near the city's main mosque."

I google the city, mosque and cemetery and this is what i get.



Ancient cemetery and the Great Mosque, Kairouan

The Mosque of Uqba (Arabic: جامع عقبة‎ , also known as the Great Mosque of Kairouan (جامع القيروان الأكبر , is one of the most important mosques in Tunisia, situated in the UNESCO World Heritage town of Kairouan.

Located in the north-east of the medina of Kairouan, the mosque is in the intramural district of Houmat al-Jami (literally "area of the Great Mosque&quot ...

The minaret, in its present aspect, dates largely from the early ninth century, about 836 AD. It is the oldest minaret in the Muslim world,[52][53] and it is also the world's oldest minaret still standing.[54]

Due to its age and its architectural features, the minaret of the Great Mosque of Kairouan is the prototype for all the minarets of the western Islamic world : it served as a model in both North Africa and in Andalusia...

The Great Mosque of Kairouan (Great Mosque of Sidi-Uqba) is considered as one of the most important monuments of Islamic civilization as well as a worldwide architectural masterpiece.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosque_of_Uqba

[RainDog]

20. Her tactics are going to provoke a reaction

from authorities.

I wonder if she has a plan of resistance, or any fellow travelers.

If she is acting as one person, it's easy to marginalize her - easier than giving the opportunity for political "martyrdom" on her part.

The reports we've seen were from women in opposition to her.

Do you know if she's isolated there? Or is it too dangerous and unconventional for other women to offer solidarity?

[HiPointDem]

21. isolated? she's a media sensation.

and as for reports her family is unsympathetic/persecuting her, here's the latest:

Sboui's father was present in court and expressed his support for his daughter.

"I am proud of my daughter who has honored the rights of women," Mounir Sboui told The Associated Press. "Maybe her acts were rash, but this is her way of expressing these ideas."

http://www.timesunion.com/news/crime/article/Tunisian-Femen-activist-fined-remains-jailed-4560669.phphttp://www.timesunion.com/news/crime/article/Tunisian-Femen-activist-fined-remains-jailed-4560669.php

[JI7]

25. didn't her dad grow up in europe

i may be thinking of someone else

[HiPointDem]

26. I haven't read that, but I don't know. His name is Sboui. I don't know where the "Tyler" came

from.

[bettyellen]

29. it's super creepy how some Femen supporters seem to be hoping she is persecuted over this!

just so they can make some kind of point (to feminist here they disagreed with) about how valid or serious her protest was. And I don't think what's happening to her now has much to do with not liking Femen's MO at all.

Less than 200 $ fine. For desecrating the ancient mosque. Hmmm. I guess there won't be a huge crowd rallying behind her over this because it's not awful enough. Maybe next time, guys!

[cali]

32. It's super creepy how Femen detractors are so sanctimonious and pleased about her arrest

[bettyellen]

33. as you often say, what a steaming pile of shit.

Pleased she got off easy, of course. And fuck yes, I think attacking world heritage sites is a sucky and pointless thing to do, and 200 bucks doesn't begin to cover it. That's not sanctimony, it's common sense, dearie. She is not exactly inspiring anybody by writing Femen. LOL.

[HiPointDem]

36. it's super creepy how femen supporters think writing 'femen' on a world heritage site and a major

world religious site is feminist protest.

it's stupid, counter-productive, reactionary provocation, intended to inflame & encourage the very forces femen is supposedly 'protesting,' in a setting where control of tunisia is currently under contention.

what a stupid, reactionary thing to do.

[bettyellen]

37. it's so anticlimactic that it almost seems like parody after reading all the persecution fantasies

here. Wow, people seem to want her to burn so they can point and say "See, serious protester!"

[HiPointDem]

38. so persecuted. supposedly in fear of her life from 'islamists,' she traveled to the most important

religious site in tunisia, on the very day when the forces of the far right were trying to hold some big conference (they were blocked from doing so by the supposedly 'islamist' courts), in order to write grafitti on tunisia's most important religious symbol, the oldest mosque in africa, and a world heritage site.

that people here are trying to paint her as a feminist martyr being persecuted by the government or the islamists or men or whoever is mind-boggling.

it was a planned media event.

[muriel_volestrangler]

39. It wasn't 'on the mosque'; it was on the top of a low modern wall of a cemetary

?1

[HiPointDem]

40. which is the ancient cemetery directly beside the mosque, part of the mosque complex.

she was arrested beside those steps. visible on the video.

[idwiyo]

66. She wrote on wall, that looks damn modern and had graffiti on it before. Never mind it's so

'sacred' that people use it as a bench.

[bettyellen]

50. that's probably why there were no charges. Could have been 6 months in jail.

Why do you think they are going so easy on her?

[muriel_volestrangler]

51. The trial for the graffiti and indecency comes on June 5th

She's still in jail until then:

A Tunisian judge on Thursday announced fresh charges against a young Tunisian woman with the topless protest group Femen, as three Europeans began a second night in custody after baring their breasts.

Amina Sboui, better known by her pseudonym Tyler, was remanded in custody and would be charged with indecency and desecrating a cemetery, crimes punishable by up to two years in jail, the presiding judge told AFP.

At the next hearing, set for June 5, she will be charged under the "criminal conspiracy" section of the penal code, where relevant articles carry possible jail terms of up to 12 years, the judge added.

http://au.news.yahoo.com/latest/a/-/latest/17400134/new-charges-against-tunisia-femen-activist-to-be-held-in-custody/

I don't call that 'going easy on her'.

[bettyellen]

52. oh, it seemed really odd to me- thanks for that!

[HiPointDem]

42. kicking this so more can see the usual suspects ramping up the outrage over an incomplete

and misleading OP.

[muriel_volestrangler]

43. You want to be seen to be that nasty to DUers?

It's not 'misleading', but you want to attack a DUer posting a news story. Your complete hatred for Femen is becoming clear. It's so rare to see a DUer so completely against a feminist protester.

[JI7]

45. look at post 6

the person who started the thread called out certain feminists who were critical and now you are upset some are responding ?

[muriel_volestrangler]

47. Not upset - we're getting to see HiPointDem's true nature

though we saw it before, when she went far enough to get banned as 'Hannah Bell'. I'm more surprised at the level of vitriol she's reached against any mention of a feminist organisation that isn't an attack on it.

However, I don't see anything wrong with post #6. Various people did criticise Femen for not being 'proper' protesters.

[JI7]

48. i don't think she is hannah bell, her style seems different

i disagree with her on many things. but i don't get the personal attacks over posting of info.

i find femen to be the same as peta. it's not that they are not "proper". i just don't think they really care about any issues or trying to get any real change .

[riderinthestorm]

53. Post #6 wasn't a "call out". How do you read that into what I wrote?

There was an enormous amount of (virtual) ink spilled about Amina and Femen's tactics on DU - that their preferred form of protest of going topless with messages written on their bodies wasn't effective, or it was sexist, or it was stupid etc etc.

Many felt that Amina wasn't in any danger at all because Tunisia is modern, progressive and in no danger from creeping Islamist political and societal influence.

I have no idea how anyone could interpret my post as "nasty" and warranting "nasty" responses. And FWIW, I didn't start out the thread that way. Not at all. In fact the OP was posted without comment.

[bettyellen]

49. are you kidding? "concerned" posters on this thread are more interested in slamming their fellow DU

member than they are in this poor young woman's future. That is what they are talking about on this thread.
They were salivating over the possibility of her martyrdom just to show everyone
how grave her situation is. I 'm glad they are wrong. But it's pretty darned repulsive to watch the phony concern in action, again.

[riderinthestorm]

44. Its the BBC. Not known for misleading (I used their own headline) or incomplete stories.

I have no idea if this is the start of a harassment campaign against Amina or not.

I think its newsworthy and after the many FEMEN threads on DU, its certainly worth discussing imho.

Thanks though for the kick!

[stevenleser]

54. Can you link to a post where this was done. I've read all posts under this thread and dont see any

that resemble your assertion.

[bettyellen]

55. post #6 is elated her trouble is "serious enough" to rub in others faces here. Shows exactly how

"serious" the posters concern really is.

Wow, Amina has people half the world away trying to use her insult others on a message board. It wasn't all for nothing then, huh?

[stevenleser]

56. That's how you are interpreting that? Wow. nt

[bettyellen]

57. yes, 6 and 7 both go on and on about DUers- they wrote much more about DUers than about Amina-

and very specifically about how they are relishing holding this over other people's heads. Because she is in soooo much trouble.

Not that they bothered googling for five seconds at all to find out exactly what trouble. Scolding DUers was her "concern".

That pretty much sums it up for me.

[stevenleser]

61. See my #60 below. nt

[riderinthestorm]

58. "Elated" about her arrest?! WTF? Please point out ANYWHERE in my post I'm "elated"

about this....

That's complete bullshit.

Do I believe Amina Tyler has raised her profile as a feminist activist, and that the state PTB may not be too happy with her. and that she may be in some jeopardy?

Yes. Unapologetically yes.

I have NEVER used Amina Tyler to "insult" others. Ever.

[bettyellen]

59. you wrote more about DUers in posts 6 and 7 than you had about her.

you didn't even bother to Google up her fate. Instead, you whined about people here for paragraphs after giving her two sentences, LOL. That's pretty transparent.

Of course, like most who pull this whining about DU bullshit these days- you were wise enough to keep it out of the OP. Good for you.

[stevenleser]

60. Your interpretation of that posters words is ridiculous. nt

[riderinthestorm]

63. Changing goalposts again. Typical.

So you are REALLY pissed because I didn't follow YOUR ideal DU format.

Well good luck with that.

I believe in this young woman and hope she can walk the fine line in her world as a Muslim feminist activist with unorthodox methods. I know that her approach really aggravates those who think FEMEN and Amina aren't doing things the "right" way to bring attention to their corner of the world.

I on the other hand, refuse to judge her and her methods. If she believes this is A way forward (not solely THE way forward, but one of many ways that get the message out), then I support and applaud her.

My persistence in sharing her developing story is because I believe in her.

I'm perfectly okay with your condemnation of me, or my posts. As long as it kicks this thread and HER story... thanks!! The more the merrier!

[bettyellen]

64. just illustrating how you spent more energy being nasty to fellow DUers here, than you did on Amina

and that seems to give you some kind of a thrill. Good for you.

[riderinthestorm]

65. Uhm no. My concern is with Amina. Good luck with false accusations

I'm okay with the posts I've made and believe they clearly illustrate my position.

Thanks again for the kick!

[idwiyo]

67. Did you bother to Google her fate? Not according to your own posts. But you sure spent a lot of time

posting very imaginative interpretation of posts you disagree with. Never mind a number of nasty insinuations. What's up with that? Talk about hypocrisy...

[bettyellen]

68. I actually did. And I'm not even the one pretending to be overwrought!

[idwiyo]

70. Are you sure?

[stevenleser]

62. She made that up. It's an utterly nonsensical interpretation of what you wrote. nt

[idwiyo]

69. Of course it's complete bullshit but very typical. Fabricate a charge and proceed to blast it as if

it was real. They are trying to derail the thread, and hopefully provoke you to say something that might get your post hidden. Best way to deal with it is to laugh at them.

[R B Garr]

71. lol, yet it's clearly Femen and Amina who are fabricating a storyline

They are turning into Fox News -- making up stories to keep themselves relevant. Amina is not being persecuted for her views or her actions! She's not a martyr. See her walking with a gaggle of news reporters trying to drum up a persecution story. They need to quit embellishing (a nice word for what they're trying to stage).

[idwiyo]

72. It's very sad watching you digging yourself into the deeper and deeper hole.

Oh well...

[R B Garr]

73. Sorry, but there is no hole being dug unless it's through the piles of bullshit

Seriously, this story and its actors in Femen are turning into the Sarah Palin phenomenon: flashy and looks nice, but when examined, there's nothing much serious about it.

Amina is clearly not being persecuted. Clearly. It looks like she's suffered some blowback as anyone would in any country for her efforts, but she's clearly not being persecuted. They lose all the credibility they are trying to build by perpetuating a phony story. They need to just stop it.

[idwiyo]

75. Keep digging.

[R B Garr]

76. you too