Tunisia: Broadcast of ‘Persepolis’ prompts protest

11 Oct 2011 | Index Index, Middle East and North Africa, minipost

Hundreds of protesters have attacked a private television company in Tunisia in protest over the broadcast of the award winning film “Persepolis.” The protesters, who believe that the animated film denigrates Islam, attacked the TV station Nessma in Tunisia’s capital on Sunday. Police used tear gas to disperse the crowd and made 40 arrests. The film, which is about the 1979 Iranian revolution, was aired on Friday. Following the broadcast, according to Nebil Karoui, the head of Nessma, messages appeared on Facebook calling for the station to be burned down and its journalists killed.

 

China: Crackdown on demonstrators and journalists

1 Mar 2011 | Index Index, minipost

The police has come down hard on Chinese demonstrators, detaining and putting under arrest hundreds of activists and human rights campaigners. Journalists trying to cover the demonstrations have also been dealt with harshly, and were detained, beaten, and their equipment confiscated. Calls for a Tunisian-style ‘Jasmine Revolution’ to be replicated in China were met with little success.