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New jail term for Tunisia's Ben Ali

April 16, 2013 15:34
Tunisia's deposed president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was given a five-year jail term in absentia and fined 3.5 million euros for corruption, adding to two life sentences he has already received, judicial sources said on Tuesday. The former strongman was convicted of having exploited his position "to provide for himself or a third party unfair advantages, causing harm to the administration," according to a Tunis court ruling. Ben Ali currently lives in gilded exile in Jeddah, having fled to Saudi Arabia with his wife during the mass uprising against his regime in January 2011.

Seychelles grants asylum to Tunisia ex-dictator relatives

April 16, 2013 04:16
The Seychelles have granted a year's asylum to the son-in-law of Tunisia's deposed dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, officials said late Monday. Sakhr El Materi, who was convicted in absentia of corruption by a Tunisian court, appealed for asylum in the Indian Ocean archipelago in February. Materi and his family "have been granted a 12 month residence permit in Seychelles," a statement from the immigration department read.

Tunisia and IMF agree $1.78 billion loan - government official

April 15, 2013 10:32
By Tarek Amara Tunis (Reuters) - The IMF and the Tunisian government have reached agreement on a $1.78 billion (1.16 billion pounds) precautionary loan which will be announced on Tuesday, a senior government official told Reuters. Tunisia had asked for support to ease financial problems seen since a revolution that toppled the former regime two years ago, but a deal was delayed by the killing in February of opposition politician Chokri Belaid.

Tunisia publishes images of suspects in secular leader's killing

April 13, 2013 12:00
TUNIS (Reuters) - The Tunisian government on Saturday published the names and photographs of five people it said were suspected of involvement in the February assassination of a secular politician and asked citizens to help track them down. The killing of Chokri Belaid on February 6 provoked the worst unrest in the North African state since the overthrow of strongman Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali two years ago that launched the Arab Spring wave of popular uprisings.

Tunisia recovers $29 million from Ben Ali's wife's account

April 12, 2013 15:06
Tunisia received $28.8 million on Thursday in the first such retrieval of what it calls looted assets held abroad by ousted President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and his family. The state news agency TAP said a cheque in that amount had been handed to President Moncef Marzouki by Ali bin Fetais al-Marri, appointed by the United Nations to head efforts to recover money from leaders overthrown in Arab uprisings.

Tunisia Salafist killed in clashes with police

April 12, 2013 09:16
Tunisian police killed a Salafist Muslim after a group of assailants attacked a police station in the northeastern town of Hergla, the interior ministry and media reports said on Friday. During the incident on Thursday night, police fired tear gas and warning shots to disperse a group of Salafists seeking to free one of their number being held there, private radio station Mosaique FM reported. The 23-year-old was mortally wounded in the clashes, which continued into Friday morning, and four others were wounded.

Italy returns ex-president's yacht to Tunisia

April 12, 2013 06:00
A court in Italy has authorised the return of a yacht belonging to the family of ousted Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali that is moored on an Italian island, the police said on Friday. The "Slaheddine" was seized in June 2011 following a request from the new Tunisian leadership to freeze assets belonging to the family of Ben Ali after a revolt forced him to flee to Saudi Arabia.

Tunisian police clash with hardline Islamists, one killed

April 11, 2013 21:00
By Tarek Amara Tunis (Reuters) - Police fired on Islamists attacking a police station in a southern Tunisian town, killing one person, a security source said, in the latest incident to raise religious tensions in the North African country. Hundreds of Salafists - followers of a puritanical interpretation of Islam - protested in front of the police station in Hergla on Thursday after officers arrested some of their comrades who had attacked alcohol sellers in the city, police and witnesses said.

Tunisia recovers $28 mn Ben Alis sent to Lebanon

April 11, 2013 12:27
Lebanon has returned to Tunisia 28.8 million dollars stashed away there by the family of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, who was overthrown in January 2011, President Moncef Marzouki's office said Thursday. The funds were returned by Qatari chief prosecutor Ali bin Fetais al-Marri, who has been charged by the United Nations with coordinating inquiries into funds diverted by leaders overthrown in the Arab Spring, a statement said. Tunisian authorities had already announced the seizure of the funds in a Lebanon bank account in the name of Leila Trabelsi, Ben Ali's wife.

Tunisia recovers $29 million from Ben Ali's wife's account

April 11, 2013 08:15
Tunis (Reuters) - Tunisia received $28.8 million (18.6 million pounds) on Thursday in the first such retrieval of what it calls looted assets held abroad by ousted President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and his family. The state news agency TAP said a cheque in that amount had been handed to President Moncef Marzouki by Ali bin Fetais al-Marri, appointed by the United Nations to head efforts to recover money from leaders overthrown in Arab uprisings.
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