Amina Tyler, who received death threats after posting topless pictures of herself on the Internet, is detained for painting the word “FEMEN” on a wall outside a mosque in Tunis
LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Tunisian activist Amina Tyler has reportedly been arrested during clashes between hard-line Islamists and police in the city of Kairouan, south of the capital Tunis, feminist group FEMEN said on its website.
Tyler, who received death threats after posting online topless pictures of herself with the words “Fuck your morals” written on her chest and belly, was detained for painting the word “FEMEN” on a wall outside the town’s mosque, FEMEN said.
A YouTube video shows 19-year-old Tyler in a checkered blue shirt talking to a group of men before being taken away by a man in uniform.
"Amina continued the anti-Islamist campaign of FEMEN for freedom for women in the very heart of the sharia stronghold," FEMEN said, adding that Tyler's whereabouts are unknown.
According to some media reports, police took her away to protect her from an “angry mob”.
FEMEN staged a global “Topless Jihad Day” in April in support of Tyler after a preacher called for her death by stoning.
Clashes erupted at the weekend in the central Tunisian city after the government barred the radical Islamist group Ansar al-Sharia from staging a rally there.
Tunisia, once considered a beacon for human rights in the Arab world thanks to its progressive family laws, has been struggling to find political and social stability since a popular uprising put an end to the rule of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.
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