Tunisia's Ben Ali says he was tricked into leaving

[pampango]

Ousted Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali says he was not fleeing when he left the country in January.

In a statement issued as his trial in absentia began, Mr Ben Ali said he had taken his family to Saudi Arabia for safety. Mr Ben Ali said he had intended to return to Tunisia immediately, but the plane left without him, "disobeying my instructions". He flew to Saudi Arabia on 14 January following a popular rising.

The Saudi authorities have yet to respond to an extradition request from Tunisia for Mr Ben Ali and his wife, Leila Trabelsi, and there seems little likelihood of them being brought to justice in person.

Speaking through his Beirut-based lawyers on Sunday, Mr Ben Ali mounted a defence of his 23 years as president, which many Tunisians say was marked by autocratic rule, corruption and human rights abuses. "He would like everyone to know this criminal prosecution is only a false and shameful image of victor's justice," a statement said.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13843963

Let's hope more dictators can be "tricked" into leaving. Of course, "staying" like Mubarak did has the advantage of prosecuting the ex-dictator in person rather than in-abstentia.
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How 'The Family' Controlled Tunisia

Over his 23 years in power, Mr. Ben Ali—who is being tried in absentia—and his relatives amassed a fortune in banks, telecommunications firms, real-estate companies and other businesses, giving them control over as much as one-third of Tunisia's $44 billion economy, according to anticorruption group Transparency International. The family displayed its wealth by throwing extravagant parties and jet-setting among several mansions in Tunisia and overseas.

Bloody protests that broke out in Tunisia in December, after a 26-year-old street vendor immolated himself to defy Mr. Ben Ali's regime, were the catalyst for the revolutionary wave across North Africa and the Middle East. Mr. Ben Ali's term ended on Jan. 14 when he was hurried into a plane by his wife, according to a person present, and fled to Saudi Arabia.

Tunisia's former president is the first deposed leader to face trial in the wake of the uprisings, but others are likely to follow. Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is due to stand trial in August on charges of murder and corruption, which he denies.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703752404576178523635718108.html

[bemildred]

1. Boy, you can just feel the outrage, somebody feeding HIM bullshit.

Wait until he finds out he can be taxed.