Ben Ali associates “who tried to flee” on trial in Tunisia
A man with a poster on his shirt reading “Wanted for Dictature” and showing deposed Tunisian president Zine el Abidine ben Ali attends on June 20, 2011 the opening of the trial of Ben Ali and his wife Leila in Tunis. Ben Ali, the first leader toppled in a wave of Arab uprisings, who is tried in his absence, is charged with plundering the country among other charges.
Twenty-three associates of toppled Tunisian president Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali appeared before a Tunis court on Tuesday to face charges of attempting to flee the country with illegal possession of foreign currency during last January's uprising.
Several of those accused are close relatives of Leila Trabelsi, the wife of Ben Ali, who fled with her husband to Saudi Arabia on January 14. Ali Seriate, Ben Ali's former head of security, is also among the group.
The defendants have been held at the Aouina military base in Tunis since their arrest.
A total of 35 people are facing charges, but only those arrested in January appeared before the court on Tuesday. They consist of 14 men and nine women.
Agence France Presse reported that, before reading out the charges against each of the accused, court president Faouzi Jbelli said:
You tried to flee the country on January 11 in possession of foreign currency and jewels.
Imed Trabelsi, the nephew of Leila, rejected the charges. He denied trying to flee Tunisia and said the money in his possession had come from "legal activities".
In June, Imed was sentenced to four years in jail for drug possession. The prosecution alleges he was carrying 36 watches and five kilograms of jewelry when he was taken into custody at Carthage airport in January.
A defense lawyer said the trial might be postponed after the reading of the charges.
(Read more on GlobalPost: Tunisia — Toppling Ben Ali just the beginning)
Ben Ali has already been twice convicted and sentenced in trials held in Tunisia in absentia.
On July 4, he was given 15 and a half years in jail for possession of arms, drugs and archaeological artifacts, and fined 54,000 euros.
And last month, Ben Ali and Leila Trabelsi were convicted of embezzlement, among other charges, after 27 million dollars in jewels and public funds were found in one of his palaces.
They were each sentenced to 35 years in prison and fined 45 million euros.
Every day, reporters and producers at The World are hard at work bringing you human-centered news from across the globe. But we can’t do it without you. We need your support to ensure we can continue this work for another year.
Make a gift today, and you’ll help us unlock a matching gift of $67,000!