Tunisia jails rapper over lyrics 'insulting' to police

2013/12/06 17:30:45 @Entertainment News Headlines — Yahoo! News

Hammamet ( Tunisia) (AFP) - A Tunisian rapper was jailed on Thursday for four months over songs deemed insulting to police, in a retrial that his supporters say proves the authorities are harassing dissident artists. The ruling comes amid ongoing human rights concerns under Tunisia & #039;s Islamist-led coalition government, almost three years after a popular uprising ousted veteran strongman Zine El Abidine Ben and triggered revolutions across the region. Weld El 15, whose real name is Alaa Yacoubi, had surrendered to the authorities for the hearing, in a bid to have the 21-month jail sentence he received in absentia in August for songs deemed insulting to police overturned. & quot;I am going to lodge an immediate appeal, & quot; defence lawyer Ghazi Mrabet said.
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