TV Station Director in Tunisia Faces Blasphemy Trial for Broadcasting "Persepolis"

(Eugene Volokh)

The New York Times reports:

[M]any in Tunisia, both pious and less so, were taken aback by the brief scene in which God was personified — speaking in Tunisian slang no less. A week later, a crowd of Salafis — the term used for the most conservative Islamists — attacked the house of Nabil Karoui, the station's director, and he was soon charged with libeling religion and broadcasting information that could "harm public order or good morals."

The trial, which Human Rights Watch called "a disturbing turn for the nascent Tunisian democracy," was originally scheduled for Nov. 16, then postponed until January [and has since been postponed again, until April].

Thanks to Prof. Howard Friedman (Religion Clause) for the pointer.