Tunisia’s Ben Ali slapped with another prison sentence

Tunisia’s former President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and his wife, Leila Ben Ali, have been issued new 10-year prison sentences for corruption, part of several sentences issued in absentia since Ben Ali was ousted in 2011.

A court in Tunisia found the couple guilty on Tuesday in a case involving “administrative and financial corruption”, according to Sofiene Sliti, spokesman for the prosecution.

Ben Ali was also sentenced to life imprisonment for his forces’ crackdown on demonstrations during the 2011 revolution where 338 people were killed in clashes.

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The court also convicted two other officials who included a former environment minister who was jailed for five years and a ministry official sentenced to three years.

Leila Trabelsi, Leila’s relative, was also sentenced to three years in prison.

When Ben Ali’s 23-year rule came to an end in 2011, during the country’s revolution, the couple fled to Saudi Arabia where they have been living in exile.

Last month, the European Council again extended the freeze on the assets of 48 people, believed to be responsible for the misappropriation of state funds in Tunisia, until 31 January 2018.

The sanctions have been extended since they were first imposed in January 2011 on Ben Ali, his wife and 46 others.