TUNIS (Reuters) - A Tunisian journalist and critic of President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali was released from prison on Tuesday after serving a six-month sentence, his wife said.
Taoufik Ben Brik was jailed after a court found him guilty of assaulting a woman, charges international press freedom groups said were concocted as punishment for his criticism of the authorities.
Ben Brik's lawyers say he was the victim of an undercover police operation to entrap him. The authorities say he was guilty of violent assault and should not be above the law.
His case has focused attention on the North African country's human rights record. Staunch ally France, which usually avoids public criticism of Tunisia's internal affairs, voiced disappointment at the arrest.
"We were afraid his imprisonment would be extended if they fabricate other charges, but he phoned me two hours ago and told me he was free and was on his way home," Ben Brik's wife Azza Zarrad told Reuters.
Reuters Africa
