Gay in tunis

His campaign focused on civil and individual rights, including the repeal of Article But a month after his presidential campaign ended, Baatour fled to France to escape what he called "very serious" death threats from Islamists in Tunisia stemming from a post he published on Facebook perceived as offensive to Islam.

It harmed my whole family," he said. Both of them admitted to having had consensual sex, which is criminalized in Tunisia between members of the same sex and punishable with up to three years in prison. Gay Tunis bars, clubs, parties, hotels, saunas, massages and more.

My private life was exposed. Yet homosexuality is criminalized under Article of the Tunisian penal code, which dates back to the French colonial era. Tunisian filmmaker Karim Belhadj was about to finish his first full-length documentary on the Jewish community in Tunisia, after working as an assistant director on two short films and making his way up in the country's film industry for years.

The media coverage of his arrest magnified its impact for him and his family, as he was married at the time, although separated from his wife, and had a young daughter. Belhadj's case stands out because, soon after his arrest, it went public and, unlike others, was widely reported on by Tunisian and French media outlets.

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The 'Nightmare' of Being :

He was prosecuted by Tunisian authorities for the post and later sentenced to one year in prison. No one wanted to speak with me. Your complete directory to LGBT life in Tunis, Tunisia!. Under Article 24 of the constitution, the state is obligated to protect "the right to privacy and the inviolability of the home," while according Article 21, "All citizens, male and female, have equal rights and duties, and are equal before the law without any discrimination.

In a recent interview tunis Democracy in ExileBelhadj said that his case was overwhelmingly publicized without his knowledge while he was in prison. Discover the best of Tunisia in 10 days including Tunis, Bizerte, Ichkeul National Park, Hammamet, Sousse, El Djem and Sfax.

How gay-friendly is Tunisia really? Our Tunisia Gay Guide lists the best gay places in the most exciting cities: bars & clubs, restaurants, accommodations, saunas. Belhadj's experience in prison is just one example of the violations and abuses that LGBTQ people face in Tunisian society.

Queer-centric information. Many suffer from lack of employment, and transgender people face problems with the public health care system. When Mounir Baatour, who is also the head of Tunisia's Liberal Party, announced in that he would run for the country's presidency, he became the first openly gay gay candidate not only in Tunisia but throughout the Arab world.

But his life was turned upside down when Tunisian police arrested him in his apartment in Tunis in March Police officers found him in the company of a years-old male student, who later confessed to being a sex worker. Dario Sabaghi. My dignity has been dragged through the mud forever.

His ordeal shows what it is like living as an LGBTQ person in a country where homosexuality is condemned and illegal, and the social stigma of being exposed gay suck gif have dire consequences on people's lives.

Belhadj, who was 38 years old at the time, was charged with homosexual activity and detained in the civil prison of Mornaguia, southwest of the Tunisian capital. In my cell, there were around prisoners. The law was established in —more than a century before Tunisia's adopted its new constitution following the ouster of autocrat Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in the popular uprising that sparked the Arab Spring.

Belhadj's story is all-too familiar in Tunisia, where the criminalization of homosexuality contradicts the right to privacy and nondiscrimination that is supposedly enshrined in Tunisia's constitution. He recounted that time in prison as a nightmare.

Belhadj was detained for 13 months before he faced trial.