Tunisian activists put in prison

The criminal court in Tunis on Wednesday sentenced a human rights activist, lawyer Radia Nasrawi (45), to six months in prison, and another 17 activists were sentenced to prison terms of between 15 months and four years.

Another three activists, including Hemma al-Hamami, husband of Nasrawi, were sentenced in absentia to between three months and nine years.

Radia Nasrawi was convicted of "facilitating the convening of a meeting of members of a society calling for hatred," in reference to the Tunisian Communist Labor Party, which is a banned small leftist party led by her husband, Hemma al-Hamami.