Manoubia Bouazizi stand at the door of her home in Tunisin this file photo. TUNIS — The mother of the fruit-seller whose self-immolation set off Tunisia's uprising has been jailed on accusations she verbally assaulted a judge. Mondhar Bedhiafi, spokesman for Tunisia's Justice Ministry, said Saturday that Manoubia Bouazizi was being held until she could see a judge Monday. The 60-year-old woman was jailed late Friday. One of Bouazizi's sons, Salem, said the altercation had been exaggerated. He said the judge had bumped into her and they exchanged words, but that his mother did not know at the time she was speaking to a judge. Salem Bouazizi, brother of Mohammed Bouazizi whose death made him a symbol for the frustrations of many, said his mother had returned an insult after the court employee insulted her, pushed her and slammed a door in her face, refusing to assist his mother's application for documents. “This is an insult to the mother of a martyr," he said, demanding his mother Manoubia's immediate release. There was no immediate comment from the justice ministry. Mohammed Bouazizi set himself on fire on a street on Dec. 17, 2010, infuriated after a policewoman confiscated his goods, and died the following month. His act sparked a wave of protests that spread through Tunisia's neglected hinterlands to the capital, forcing veteran dictator Zine Al-Abidine Ben Ali to flee on Jan. 14, 2011. Ben Ali's departure sent shock waves around the Arab world and sparked uprisings that ultimately overthrew leaders in Egypt and Libya last year. The families of those killed in the Tunisian revolution have complained that the government has done little compensate them or to improve the position of the country's worst off. — Reuters
