Manama: Two Tunisians were each sentenced to seven years in prison for posting disparaging illustrations of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) on a social network.
The court in Mahdia, a coastal city 200km south of the capital Tunis, ruled that posting the illustrations and publishing material on Facebook could disrupt public order and sentenced the two defendants to five years and a fine of TD1,200.
They were also sentenced to spend two years in jail for attacking people on the social network and seven months for indecent attitudes, local Arabic daily Assabah reported on Tuesday.
The posting of the illustrations and texts sparked an outcry in Mahdia and other cities, prompting lawyers to sue the two defendants. One was arrested and put on trial while the other went into hiding and was tried in absentia.
