Outraged Tunisians took to the streets by the hundreds Tuesday, angrily protesting the treatment of a woman who was allegedly raped by police officers - and then charged with public indecency when she filed a complaint.
"At best, charging the victim of a rape by police officers instead of protecting her from intimidation and stigma highlights the deep flaws on Tunisian law and criminal justice system," said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, deputy Middle East and North Africa program director at Amnesty International.
"At worst, it is an insidious attempt to discredit a rape victim and protect those she accused of raping her."
The case began September 3 when three police officers approached the woman and her fiance while they were in their car in the capital Tunis, the woman's lawyer told Amnesty.
Two of the officers then raped the woman inside the car, while the third took her fiance to a nearby ATM to extort money from him, the woman claimed.
It was only after she filed a complaint against the officers - and they were charged with rape and extortion - that the officers said they found the couple in an "immoral position" in the car.
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