Colin Stewart is a 45-year journalism veteran living in Southern…
A district court in Hammamet, Tunisia, today ordered the detention of a transgender woman who is awaiting a court decision on charges of public indecency and insulting a government official, Kapitalis.com reported.
Location of Tunisia (Map courtesy of HRW)
Attorney Mounir Baatour said that his client, A.K., a trans woman known as Miriam, was arrested in November 2016 during a Halloween party for dressing as a woman. When questioned by the police, A.K. told them she considers herself a woman.
After making this “revelation,” police took A.K. to the police station where she said she was subjected to torture, humiliation and taunting, Baatour said.
The public prosecutor decided to set her free pending trial. Today A.K. appeared before a judge to answer the charges.
Baatour went with A. K. to Hammamet district court where, to his surprise, the judge issued a warrant of committal against A.K., pending a verdict in the case. Baatour said:
Mounir Baatour
“It seems that we are faced with a transphobic judge who has not even taken the trouble to conduct the trial before ordering the detention of my client.”
