Trial of Abidine Ben Ali gets underway

TUNIS: Tunisia placed toppled former president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali on trial for plunder Monday, underlining the exiled strongman's fall from grace as he insisted he was duped into fleeing January's revolution.

The Saudi-based former president, who denies any wrongdoing, faces charges related to theft, drugs and weapons offences. He could be jailed for up to 20 years if found guilty.

Despite his absence from the trial, Ben Ali marked the trial's opening with a statement in which he denied that he had intended to go into exile and condemned 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 Ben Ali's Beirut-based attorney Akram Azoury.

Inside the packed Tunis court room , prosecutors presented two cases, an exercise they could have skipped as Ben Ali was absent.

In the first one, Ben Ali and his wife Leila Trabelsi are accused of stealing public funds, accusations based on the discovery of money and jewellery in their palace in the outskirts of Tunis.

Although Ben Ali was not present, Azoury said that his client strongly denied all the charges.

The second, which targets Ben Ali only, involves weapons and drugs allegedly found in a presidential residence in Carthage.

Following the prosecutors, Ben Ali's court appointed attorneys requested more time to prepare their defence adding that the court should have been more "diplomatic" in convincing Ben Ali to attend the court hearings.

A court source told AFP the delay could be granted in the Carthage case, while the first case will most likely go to verdict.

Protests both in support and condemning the trial could be heard within the courtroom.

"What are they putting on trial? Air? This makes no sense," said Mohamed Salah Zaalouni, a waiter.

Monday's 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 artefacts.

Of the 93 charges Ben Ali and his inner circle face, 35 will be referred to the military court, according to the justice ministry spokesman.

A murder or torture conviction carries the death penalty, though Ben Ali is not expected to face these charges.

Military justice system chief, Colonel Major Marwane Bouguerra, said former interior minister Rafik Belhaj Kacem may find himself named in cases linked to the 300 civilian deaths in protests between December 17-January 14.

Ben Ali - accompanied by his wife and two children -- left Tunisia for Saudi Arabia in January at the climax of the first of the Arab uprisings.

In Monday's statement, Ben Ali said he had been advised by his security chief Ali Al-Soryati to leave Tunisia on January 14 because of fears of an assassination plot.

He said he had bundled his family onto a plane which took them to Saudi Arabia and had explicitly instructed the pilot to wait for him at Jeddah airport.

"But after arriving in Jeddah the plane turned around and headed back to Tunis, disobeying my instructions," he said.

Ben Ali said he considered himself the victim of a plot that needs him as the "absolute evil" so that Tunisians "are prepared for a new political system created behind their backs by extremists."

His dramatic departure came less than a month after the self-immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi, a 26-year-old street vendor who was complaining of unemployment, unleashed already-simmering popular anger against Ben Ali.

Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal has said the kingdom gave refuge to Ben Ali on condition he would not use it as a base for political activities. (AFP)