"The judge ... has confirmed the six-month sentence on Ben Brik," Nasraoui said after a court hearing on Saturday. The trial of Ben Brik, a vehement critic of Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, has put the North African country's human rights record under intense scrutiny from Western governments and freedom of speech campaigners.
Tunisian officials have denied the case is political. They say anyone convicted of assaulting a woman should expect to be punished and that no one is above the law.
Ben Brik's wife and other members of his family said earlier this month they had started a hunger strike to press for his release on the grounds of his poor health. The case triggered a diplomatic spat when France's Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said he was disappointed that Ben Brik had been arrested. Ben Ali responded by attacking what he called "foreign interference" in Tunisia's internal affairs.
Tunisia is sensitive to criticism from European Union countries because it is to apply soon to the EU for advanced status, which could qualify it for preferential trade terms and enchance its international standing. Tunisian officials said Ben Brik had knocked a woman to the floor, punched and kicked her, swore at her and deliberately damaged her car. Ben Brik's lawyers alleged he was the victim of a police operation to entrap him.