A Tunisian court in Gabes, in the South East of Tunisia, fined graffiti artists Oussama Bouagila and Chahine Berriche, 100 Tunisian Dinars [approximately 63 USD], for “writing, without permission, on public property” today [April 10, 2013]. However, the court dismissed the most serious charges of “breaching the state of emergency” and “publishing fake news that could disturb public order”.
[1]Photo Via Zwewla Facebook Page
Last November, Bouagila and Berriche were caught by police [2] as they were drawing a graffiti that says “the people want the poor's rights.” The two young men are members of the street art group Zwewla [ar] [“the poor” in Tunisian dialect], known for drawing graffiti in support of the underprivileged and the poor.
[3]Caricature by Nidhal Ghariani
In a statement, the support committee for Zwewla, described [4] [fr] the verdict as a “symbolic victory for free expression”:
Le Comité de soutien #FreeZwewla est fier de cette victoire symbolique et annonce des initiatives et actions qui auront lieu prochainement afin de réunir l’argent demandé et de régler cette amende.
The support committee #FreeZwewla is proud of this symbolic victory, and announces that a number of initiatives and actions will take place soon to collect the needed sum of money and pay the fine