| 15 February 2012 | 6 Comments
 
 

Sami Khedira with his girlfriend Lena Gercke

The editor, director and a journalist of the Tunisian daily Attounissia were arrested on February 15th after running a front page photo of half-Tunisian Real Madrid Midfielder Sami Khedira posing with his German model girlfriend Lena Gercke.

The photo, which runs on the cover of the March 2012 issue of the German GQ magazine shows Khedira in a tuxedo covering the breasts of Gercke with his hand. Gercke is nude in the photo. The photo has been widely shared on social networks, and on websites about the wives and girlfriends of football players.

According to the online edition of Attounissia, a prosecutor has ordered a judicial investigation into the circumstances leading to the decision of the Arabic language paper’s decision to publish the photo. The editor is being charged with “disrespecting public decency” while the newspaper claims it was simply reporting sports news.  The newsmen are currently being held in custody, in the prison of Bouchoucha outside of Tunis.

Along with other published condemnations of the Tunisian Government, Attounisia accused the Minister of Culture, Mehdi Mabrouk of saying he wanted to standardize artistic tastes which the paper claims is a new form of censorship.

The Tunisian Union of Journalists have condemned the arrests. This is the first case since the revolution that journalists in Tunisia have been arrested for the content they have published.

Officials from both the Ministry of Culture and Ministry of Justice were unavailable for comment at press time.

 


Comments (6)

Trackback URL | Comments RSS Feed

Sites That Link to this Post

  1. Islamist or Secular Identity « tunisiaweekly | 22 February 2012
  2. Tunisians Protest Against Various Issues in Front of National Constituent Assembly : Tunisia Live | 18 February 2012
  3. Pre-Trial of Journalists Arrested for Publication of Sami Khedira Photo : Tunisia Live | 16 February 2012
  1. Afif says:
    16 February 2012 at 17:40

    @ Kasem,
    There is no such a thing as pure Arab. Let us not start racial stuff and add water to the mud….please!!

    Reply
  2. kacem bejaoui says:
    16 February 2012 at 13:51

    hello

    to all tunisiien proper clean patriotic we have to dismental el nahda they are not arabs most them are born in berbger morroco and algeria before these country have independance from france .to tunisien 99% percent arabs it is time that a reall arab tunisien like that bastard ben ali take power tunisen these el nahda are not arabs are berber chilh from both morroco and algeria born in tunisia during the french occupation of berber chilh algerian and morroco arabs of tunisia it is time that we vote one arab from bizerte menzel tmim zolfa and tunis capital also from all tunisien region no nahda berber remember bourgiuba ben ali thy wre a very good arabs pure arabs never give chance to these berber no tunisen arab.

    Reply
  3. Afif says:
    16 February 2012 at 02:06

    ”disrespecting public decency?” The prosecutor NOW wants to protect “public decency?”. And who sets the standard? him? his mother? some judge who does not even know that his own daughter is sneaking out at night?? Besides who does not like photos that do appeal to our “prurient interests?” Read what the boys and the girls say on facebook and you will see that the goverment just can’t control it…and never will It is when the goverment tells you what to read and not to read, what you can watch and what you cannot watch that you need to realize that your “freedom” is in your head and is not real. If you don’t like what you see..simple, change the channel and watch your own kids and mind your own business as to what I and my own kids watch. The prosecutor should be after those who have plundered the country and not journalists. I cannot wait for the next election to vote these morons out.

    Reply

Leave a feed back