Tunisia 2NIA

A Tunisian court on Thursday slapped a small fine on the owner of the private Nessma television station for undermining morality and public order by screening the film “Persepolis,” which showed depictions of God. The case was seen as a key test of media freedom in Tunisia since the ousting of dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in January 2011. Press watchdogs and the US ambassador to Tunis warned it raised concerns about tolerance and free speech in the post-revolution era. Nabil Karoui broadcast last year the award-winning Franco-Iranian film that recounts the Iranian revolution and its aftermath through the eyes of a young girl, and which includes a drawing of Allah, an act considered blasphemy by Sunni Muslims. The screening prompted attacks on the station’s offices and Karoui’s home by activists linked to Salafism, a conservative strand of Islam. I am very sad. I thought that on this day Tunisia was going to present another image to the whole world than one that tampers with freedoms,” he said. “I am very worried about the situation of freedom in Tunisia because my conviction sends a very bad message, not only nationally, but also to the entire Maghreb,” he added. Tunisia is now led by the moderate Islamist Ennahda party that won the most seats in October elections, the first polls since Ben Ali’s ouster. High quality global journalism requires investment. The tumultuous events of 2011 have undermined this idea. Across the Arab world — a region once held to be …