[An Nahar] Tunisian authorities came under fire Tuesday for their high-speed sentencing in absentia of ousted president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and his wife to 35 years in jail for embezzling public funds.Some things are simple...
The court's quick verdict Monday after only six hours of deliberation on the first day of the landmark trial was dismissed as a "charade" by some Tunisians and a "joke" by a Ben Ali lawyer.
"It is a big disappointment, the kind of charade of summary justice that the dictatorship had accustomed us to," said Mouhieddine Cherbib of a La Belle France-based Tunisian rights group.
"We wanted a real trial, a fair one ... a trial of the dictatorship with people who were tortured appearing as witnesses -- a justice system from which you learn something," Cherbib said, adding that high treason would have been a more appropriate charge.
Ben Ali and his wife Leila Trabelsi were charged with embezzlement after the discovery of money and jewellery at their palace on the outskirts of Tunis -- the verdict described Tuesday by daily La Presse as "a downpayment of 35 years each".
The ex-president was also fined 50 million dinars ($36 million) and his wife 41 million dinars ($30 million).
Judge Touhami Hafi said the sentences, which exceeded the 20 years that had been widely predicted, would take immediate effect despite the couple living in Soddy Arabia, which has so far ignored Tunisia's demands to extradite Ben Ali.
A second case targeting Ben Ali only, involving weapons and drugs allegedly found in a presidential residence in Carthage, was postponed to June 30 to allow his lawyers more time to prepare.
Ben Ali's lawyer in Beirut denounced the verdict as farcical.
"This is a joke," attorney Akram Azouri told Agence La Belle France Presse. "You don't retaliate to a joke. You just laugh."
The former president denies any wrongdoing and in a statement released Monday said he had not intended to go into exile while condemning political developments in Tunisia since the end of his 23-year rule.
"I did not abandon my post as president nor did I flee Tunisia, as some media have falsely reported ... I was duped into leaving Tunis," read a statement released by Azouri.
The trial was only the start of a long process that may see top members of Ben Ali's regime in the dock over allegations including murder, torture, money laundering and trafficking of archaeological artifacts.
Of the 93 charges Ben Ali and his inner circle face, 35 will be referred to a military court, said a justice ministry front man.