Justice Supports the Theory of the Aggressor Presented as a Victim

In Tunisia: if you are assaulted, insulted and robbed by someone do not consol yourself by the idea of suing him.
A magic trick played by judges and roles can be easily exchanged.
The victim becomes the guilty whereas the offender is presented as a honest citizen.
This is what happened to the journalist Mouldi Zouabi, sentenced on December 8th, 2010 by the first instance court of Jendouba to a fine of 900 dinars for "aggravated violence" and "public insults" against his own aggressor: Khalil Maaroufi, the manager of a coffee shop situated in front of Jendouba’s Courthouse.
 All the national and international observers have naturally denounced a fabricated trial aiming at intimidating a courageous journalist. Mouldi Zouabi the collaborator of the dissident radio Kalima is known for his bold writings about the social situation in the remote areas of the disadvantaged North West.
Fortunately, the verdict has been light as he was risking a sentence of two years in prison.
It seems that the judges did not want to aggravate the situation as they did with Taoufik Ben Brik and Slim Boukhdhir , who were respectively sentenced to 6 months and one year in prison for fabricated assaults.
Mouldi Zouabi’s trial which started on July 14th, 2010 presented all the signs of infringement of the defense’s rights.
On October 6th, 2010 the defense lawyers decided to withdraw to denounce them. The defense collective declared “to refuse to be guarantors to a judicial masquerade characterized by the lack of the basic standards of a fair trial”.
 OLPEC (The Observatory for the Freedom of Press, Publishing and Creation) and the CNLT (National Council for Liberties in Tunisia) stressed in a statement on October 6th, 2010 that "the court has deliberately ignored the requests of defense, including the request of confrontation between the two parties that never occurred at any stage of the judicial investigation as well as the presence of the witnesses”.
 Several international NGOs such as Reporters without Borders (RWB) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) have called for the dropping of charges against him, believing he has punished for his writings.