A Tunisian court has handed down a six-month jail term to dissident reporter Taoufik Ben Brik for assaulting a woman, prompting outrage among human rights and press freedom groups who say the charges were fabricated.
Tunisia is one of the North African countries with the highest standard of living and tries to project a foreign investment friendly image; many French companies have opened shop there.
However its regime is notoriously repressive, severely curtailing freedom of speech and always harassing dissident voices, such as Ben Brik. Europeans think a hundred miles is a long way. Americans think a hundred years is a long time.
