Tunisia tv chief fined for screening film that depicts God

The head of a private Tunisian TV station has been fined for allegedly disrupting public order by screening an animated film that some religious groups claim violates Islamic principles.

A court in Tunis ordered station owner Nabil Karoui to pay 1,400 dinars (€432) for showing the award-winning film 'Persepolis' in October.

The film, about a girl growing up during the Iranian revolution of 1979 and the Islamic regime, includes a depiction of God, seen by some as sacrilegious.

Defence lawyer Abada Kefi said that in its ruling the court also threw out a charge of “offence against a sacred item”.

The lawyer said he would appeal against the verdict.

The legal battle has underscored a struggle between secularists and hardline Islamists in Tunisia in the wake of last year’s overthrow of long-time President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali – the first Arab Spring uprising.