Weld el 15: another Tunisian rapper convicted for his art NEWS
The Tunisian judicial system, in spite of the recommendations by the UN Rapporteur on cultural rights, the mobilization of civil society and NGOs and the conventions on the right to freedom of expression, has condemned the Tunisian rapper Weld el 15 (Yaacoubi Ala ) to 4 months in jail.
Weld El 15 was sentenced in absentia earlier in 2013 and condemned to two years for a performance deemed insulting to the police. He was found guilty of “insulting civil servants,” “undermining public decency,” and defamation. On the run since June, he finally decided to appear in court in Hammamet early December, where he was sentenced to four months of prison, for the same song. His lawyers, family and support base are fearful for his life and his physical integrity. The legal team will appeal the decision.
Arterial Network, a pan-African NGO which lobbies for freedom of artistic creation and the respect of human rights, denounces the verdict and calls for the protection of artists and the respect of their right to express themselves through their art.
Sign the petition here.
More information here:http://freemuse.org/archives/6981
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