Meanwhile in Tunisia, a preacher demands a female be executed for posting topless Facebook pictures

Young_Chitlin · March 2013

By MARTIN JAY

A Ukrainian women's rights group is calling for a 'topless revolution' in Tunisia after a Muslim preacher demanded a girl who posted naked pictures of herself online be stoned because she is an 'epidemic'. FEMEN, which regularly stages high-profile naked protests, is declaring April 4 the day of 'relentless topless jihad against Islamism' in a bid to jump-start a new Arab Spring for women's rights.

Amina Tyler, 19, caused outrage in her native Tunisia last week when she posted topless photos of herself on her Facebook page. The teenager, who is an FEMEN activist, can be seen smoking a cigarette with Arabic words written across her chest in black that translates into English as: 'My body belongs to me.'

It is unclear from reports in the Arab press whether Amina posted these photos while in Tunisia. Reports in Europe and the U.S. have stated that Amina has been taken by her parents to a psychiatric hospital in Tunis, which have been confirmed by FEMEN leader Inna Shevchenko in Paris. Tunisian media said that if Amina committed the offence in her own country, she could be punished by up to two years in prison and be given a fine between £40 and £400 pounds.

Yet her act has caused conservative religious leaders there to take laws into their own hands. Recent reports claim that FEMEN's Facebook account was hacked and that one page been infiltrated with videos and pictures on the site with verses from the Koran. 'Thanks to ? we have hacked this immoral page and the best is yet to come,' read one message signed by 'al-Angour,' an apparent hacker.

Salafist religious leaders in Tunisia want Amina to be stoned to death. Tunisian newspaper AssabahNews quoted Salafi preacher Adel Almi, who heads the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, saying: 'According to ? 's law, she deserves 80 to 100 lashes, but what she committed is worth much more than that. 'She deserves to be stoned to death and she must be quarantined because what she did is an epidemic.'

'She is like someone suffering from a serious and contagious illness and she must be secluded and treated,' he added. FEMEN responded with a statement condemning 'barbarian threats of the Islamists' and said that April 4 will mark the 'beginning of a new, genuine Arab Spring, after which true freedom, freedom without mullahs and caliphs, will come to Tunisia!

'Long live the topless jihad against infidels!' before ending on a high note: 'Our ? are deadlier than your stones!' A petition and an international day of action on April 4 to highlight the threats against Amina have been organised by the group. More than 10,000 people have already signed the petition that called for those who threatened Amina's life to be prosecuted.

A spokesman for Human Rights Watch said: 'The comments of the Tunisian preacher Adel Almi saying that Amina Tyler should be stoned to death could put her at serious risk of being harmed. 'The Tunisian state should react at the very least by condemning these words and protecting her from physical assault, and investigate if the crime of inciting violence has taken place.' Last month, FEMEN brought together Iranian women in Sweden, who took to the streets of Stockholm demonstrating against the Hijab (Islamic headscarf). One of its leaders also recently condemned Elmar Brok, a powerful German MEP in the European parliament for seeking the services of Ukrainian prostitutes, an accusation which he has yet to deny.

Yet early indications are suggesting that he may escape prosecution following the minister's comments which seemed to shift the blame to the family and hinted that he would 'no measures against the caretaker were needed' according to AFP. 'Three weeks ago, my life turned into a nightmare. When I imagine my daughter, who weighs 10 kilos, in the hands -- and on several occasions -- of this 55-year-old caretaker, I have only one wish, to die,' the father of the victim told the French news wire.

'The children's nursery is still open despite what happened to my daughter,' he added, his voice welling with emotion.