Tunisia's Ben Ali sentenced to life in absentia
TUNIS: A Tunisian court sentenced ousted leader Zine El
Abidine Ben Ali, in absentia, to life in prison on Wednesday for
presiding over the bloody protest crackdown that ignited the Arab
Spring.
Former interior minister Rafik Belhaj Kacem and several more of Ben
Ali's inner circle received sentences of up to 15 years in prison, but
other key figures saw their charges dismissed, much to the anger of
victims' families. Prosecutors had sought the death penalty for Ben Ali
-- who fled after his ouster and is living in exile in Saudi Arabia --
over the killing of 22 people while clamping down on the central cities
of Thala and Kasserine.
"We tried to hand down a fair verdict, and nobody put any pressure on
us. We were only guided by God and our own personal conviction,"
civilian judge Chokri Mejri said at the end of the six-month trial in
Kef, west of Tunis.
The court drew angry cries from victims' families outside when it
dropped charges against 10 officials, including former presidential
guard chief Ali Seriati and the former director of Tunisia's riot
police, Moncef Laajimi. "Revenge! Revenge!" they shouted, according to
Abdelkarim Maghouri, a lawyer present at the hearing.
"The judge could not fully read the verdict because of the ruckus,"
Maghouri told AFP.
Wasfi Seihi, whose cousin Wajdi was killed in Thala, said: "The judge
should have pronounced the death penalty for all the accused." Mohamed
Bouazizi, a 26-year-old vegetable seller from the central town of Sidi
Bouzid, inspired the Tunisian revolt. His suicide set off weeks of
protests that ended up toppling one of the most entrenched autocratic
regimes in the Arab world and led to democratic elections last October
that saw a moderate Islamist party rise to power.
The ouster of Ben Ali launched a wave of protests in the Middle East
and North Africa that became known as the Arab Spring and is still
sweeping the region.It triggered sensation around the world.
Wednesday's convictions were the first of senior regime personnel
over the killing of hundreds of protesters during the Tunisian
revolution. But there were fears that anger over the acquittals of
several key figures and lingering doubts that Ben Ali will ever be
brought to justice could see fresh violence. "I fear that this judgment
will cause unrest," Anouar el-Bassi, a lawyer for victims' families,
told AFP.
"Two former pillars of the forces of order" were acquitted, he said,
referring to Laajimi and senior interior ministry official Moncef Krifa.
Meanwhile, Tunisia's government on Wednesday blamed Salafists and old
regime loyalists for the worst unrest since Ben Ali's ouster but
dismissed suggestions that Al-Qaeda initiated the violence. One man died
and around 100 people were injured, including 65 policemen, as a result
of a three-day wave of riots which appears to have been triggered by an
art exhibition that included works deemed offensive to Islam. AFP |