A Tunis court on Monday sentenced ousted Tunisian president Zine el Abidine Ben Ali in his absence to 15 years in jail for possession of arms, drugs and archaeological artefacts. In his second trial since fleeing to Saudi Arabia following a popular uprising in January, Ben Ali was also given a fine of 54,000 euros (78,500 dollars).
The former strongman and his wife Leila Trabelsi had already been sentenced in absentia to 35 years in prison last month for misappropriating public funds after large sums of cash and jewellery were discovered in a police search of their palace. In Monday's trial, Ben Ali alone was accused of harbouring drugs and weapons at his palace in the Carthage neighbourhood north of Tunis. He also faces a drug trafficking charge.
After fours hours of deliberation, the court sentenced him to 10 years for drug possession, five years for weapons possession and six months for possession of archaeological artefacts. "Today's trial, just like yesterday's trial and the 93 other scheduled trials, is non-existent as it breaches all standards of a fair trial," Ben Ali's lawyers said in a statement read out even before the verdict was announced.
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