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| Africa North |
| Court acquits Ben Ali's security chief in escape case |
| 2011-08-13 |
| TUNIS: Zine Al-Abidine Ben Ali’s feared former security chief was acquitted Friday on charges of forging passports to help relatives of the deposed Tunisian leader and his wife escape with cash and jewelry. A Tunisian court dropped the case against Ali Seriati, but he remains in custody pending more serious charges of trying to sow strife in the wake of the revolution that sparked the “Arab Spring” protests that spread across the region. In the same session, the court sentenced 23 relatives of Ben Ali and his wife, Leila Trabelsi, to jail terms ranging between four months and six years. Leila Trabelsi was sentenced to six years in absentia and Ben Ali’s powerful son-in-law Sakher Materi was sentenced to four years in absentia. “These verdicts are disappointing,” said Abdelmajid, a Tunisian man who came to watch the sentencing. “Is it possible that some of the Trabelsi get just four months or a year? Why don’t they just release them too?“ The court released from custody on Friday the former Finance Minister Mohammed Rechid Kchich, though corruption charges against him have not been dropped. His release comes on the heels of the release of the reviled former justice minister, who also still faces charges. Analysts and politicians say Ben Ali’s former allies are still in positions of power and are working behind the scenes to save their friends, protect their interests and roll back the gains Tunisians have made since Ben Ali fled the country. Seriati was considered close to the Tunisian leader and many Tunisians accuse him of orchestrating a spree of violence after Ben Ali fled the country on Jan. 14 for Saudi Arabia. The relatives were captured at the airport as they prepared to flee with cash and jewelry on the night Ben Ali left. Seriati was arrested shortly after Ben Ali’s departure, and appealed for forgiveness in court on Wednesday. “I ask the Tunisian people to forgive me. I am Tunisian and I love Tunisia,” he shouted at the end of the hearing. “Even Seriati is innocent. So who are the criminals? The people who went on protests from Dec. 17 to Jan. 14? And they said it was a revolution,” wrote one Tunisian on Facebook. |
| Posted by:Steve White |