Tunisian Man Jailed For Smoking During Ramadan

A Tunisian man has been sentenced to one month in jail for smoking a cigarette in public on Monday, during the month of Ramadan, as reported by BBC Wednesday.

This is the fifth conviction for the charge of “public indecency” during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. During Ramadan, Muslims abstain from food and drink from sunrise to sunset each day.

Read: Tunisians Protest For The Right To Publicly Eat And Drink During Ramadan

The man was allegedly smoking outside a courthouse in the town Bizerte. An official reported him to the police and he was convicted shortly afterward. Four other men were arrested on the same charge of “public indecency” after being caught eating outside during daylight hours. They had been “eating and smoking in a public garden, a provocative act during Ramadan,” said Chokri Lahmar, a prosecution spokesman at the court in Bizerte.

On Sunday, dozens of Tunisians protested in the capital Tunis. They demanded the right to eat and drink in public during Ramadan and protested the arrests of non-fasters. During Ramadan, most restaurants and cafes close during the day. Those that open do so discreetly. Tunisia has no law against eating or drinking in public during Ramadan, but the issue is a problem each year.

“Imprisoning someone for smoking a cigarette or eating in public is an absurd violation of an individual’s personal freedoms. Failing to conform to religious and social customs is not a criminal offense,” said Heba Morayef, North Africa Research Director at Amnesty International. “The Tunisian authorities should not allow vaguely worded charges to be used to impose harsh sentences on spurious grounds,” she said in a statement.

Read: When Does Ramadan 2017 End? Islamic Fasting Month Culminates On Eid Al-Fitr

The Tunisian constitution guarantees its citizens “freedom of belief and conscience,” while also considering itself the “guardian of religion.”