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Tunisian court sentences Ben Ali to 15 years in prison

04 July 2011 19:53 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. A court in Tunis Monday sentenced Tunisia’s former President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in absentia to 15 and a half years in jail on drugs and weapons charges and fined him 180,000 Tunisian dinars (140, 000 U.S. dollars), the Tunisian national radio reported, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

It was Ben Ali’s second trial, during which the ex-president’s lawyers walked out of the court after their request for a postponement was rejected by the officiating magistrate.

The former Tunisian leader who left the country following weeks of protests against his 23 years’ rule, was convicted to 35 years imprisonment and a 64 million-dollar-fine for embezzlement and trafficking of archeological artifacts following a first trial a few weeks ago.

He faces 182 other charges, including voluntary manslaughter under a military jurisdiction, in which he risks the death sentence.