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Thursday, June 14, 2012 5:14:01 AM
Tunisian court sentences Ben Ali, security chiefs over killings
By Tarek Amara, Reuters June 13, 2012
Combination picture from file photos shows Tunisia's President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali (L) and Tunisia's Interior Minister Rafik Belhaj Kacem (R) in Tunis in 2009. A Tunisian court on June 13, 2012 sentenced Kacem, ousted president Ben Ali's interior minister, to 12 years in jail on Wednesday over the killing of protesters in the central towns where the Arab Spring began but found his security chief innocent. The judge at the military court in Kef also sentenced Ben Ali himself to life in jail over his role in the deaths but the former strongman is in exile in Saudi Arabia and unlikely to be extradited soon.
Photograph by: Zoubeir Souissi (L)/Loufi Larbi (R) , Reuters
TUNIS, June 13 (Reuters) - A Tunisian court sentenced ousted leader Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali's interior minister and seven of his security chiefs to up to 15 years in jail on Wednesday over the killing of hundreds of protesters in the central towns where the Arab Spring began.
Former Interior Minister Rafik Belhaj Kacem and the security chiefs are the first senior officials to be convicted over the deaths of more than 300 people in last year's uprising.
The judge at the military court in Kef also sentenced Ben Ali himself to life in jail over his role in the deaths but the former strongman fled to exile in Saudi Arabia as protests swept Tunisia on Jan. 14, 2011 and is unlikely to be extradited soon.
Of the 23 senior officials on trial for killing protesters in the towns of Kasserine, Tala, Kairouan and Tajrouine, 14 were acquitted including Ben Ali's presidential security chief Ali Seriati and Ahmed Friaa, who was appointed interior minister shortly before the president fled.
Those acquittals are likely to provoke anger among the families of the victims who have waited almost 18 months for justice to served.
"The verdict is unjust. The sentences are light, these sentences have been affected by political pressure. The court has fallen into a trap," Chardedine Glail, the lawyer representing the families of the victims, told Reuters.
"How can Ben Ali get life when he is charged with a role in the deaths whereas Kacem gets 12 years when he is charged with killing."
NO RETURN
Tunisia's government has already faced criticism over its failure to persuade Saudi Arabia to hand over Ben Ali and his wife Leila Trabelsi, a former hairdresser whose lavish lifestyle and clique of wealthy relatives came to be seen by many Tunisians as a symbol of the corrupt era.
Ben Ali has already been sentenced to decades in jail on charges ranging from corruption to torture but many Tunisians fear he will never see the inside of a prison cell as there is little indication Saudi Arabia will extradite him.
Earlier on Wednesday, a separate military court in Tunis sentenced Ben Ali to 20 years in absentia for inciting "murder and looting" during a police attempt to smuggle his nephew out of the country during the revolt.
The case involves the death of four protesters, who were shot by police in the coastal town of Wardanein, as they tried to prevent Qais Ben Ali - now in jail in Tunisia - from fleeing a day after the president left the country.
The military prosecutor at Kef had last month demanded the death penalty be imposed on the former strongman for his role in the deaths of protesters, prompting an outcry by human rights groups who oppose capital punishment.
© Copyright (c) Reuters
http://www.canada.com/news/Tunisian+court+sentences+security+chiefs+over+killings/6777229/story.html
By Tarek Amara, Reuters June 13, 2012
Combination picture from file photos shows Tunisia's President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali (L) and Tunisia's Interior Minister Rafik Belhaj Kacem (R) in Tunis in 2009. A Tunisian court on June 13, 2012 sentenced Kacem, ousted president Ben Ali's interior minister, to 12 years in jail on Wednesday over the killing of protesters in the central towns where the Arab Spring began but found his security chief innocent. The judge at the military court in Kef also sentenced Ben Ali himself to life in jail over his role in the deaths but the former strongman is in exile in Saudi Arabia and unlikely to be extradited soon.
Photograph by: Zoubeir Souissi (L)/Loufi Larbi (R) , Reuters
TUNIS, June 13 (Reuters) - A Tunisian court sentenced ousted leader Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali's interior minister and seven of his security chiefs to up to 15 years in jail on Wednesday over the killing of hundreds of protesters in the central towns where the Arab Spring began.
Former Interior Minister Rafik Belhaj Kacem and the security chiefs are the first senior officials to be convicted over the deaths of more than 300 people in last year's uprising.
The judge at the military court in Kef also sentenced Ben Ali himself to life in jail over his role in the deaths but the former strongman fled to exile in Saudi Arabia as protests swept Tunisia on Jan. 14, 2011 and is unlikely to be extradited soon.
Of the 23 senior officials on trial for killing protesters in the towns of Kasserine, Tala, Kairouan and Tajrouine, 14 were acquitted including Ben Ali's presidential security chief Ali Seriati and Ahmed Friaa, who was appointed interior minister shortly before the president fled.
Those acquittals are likely to provoke anger among the families of the victims who have waited almost 18 months for justice to served.
"The verdict is unjust. The sentences are light, these sentences have been affected by political pressure. The court has fallen into a trap," Chardedine Glail, the lawyer representing the families of the victims, told Reuters.
"How can Ben Ali get life when he is charged with a role in the deaths whereas Kacem gets 12 years when he is charged with killing."
NO RETURN
Tunisia's government has already faced criticism over its failure to persuade Saudi Arabia to hand over Ben Ali and his wife Leila Trabelsi, a former hairdresser whose lavish lifestyle and clique of wealthy relatives came to be seen by many Tunisians as a symbol of the corrupt era.
Ben Ali has already been sentenced to decades in jail on charges ranging from corruption to torture but many Tunisians fear he will never see the inside of a prison cell as there is little indication Saudi Arabia will extradite him.
Earlier on Wednesday, a separate military court in Tunis sentenced Ben Ali to 20 years in absentia for inciting "murder and looting" during a police attempt to smuggle his nephew out of the country during the revolt.
The case involves the death of four protesters, who were shot by police in the coastal town of Wardanein, as they tried to prevent Qais Ben Ali - now in jail in Tunisia - from fleeing a day after the president left the country.
The military prosecutor at Kef had last month demanded the death penalty be imposed on the former strongman for his role in the deaths of protesters, prompting an outcry by human rights groups who oppose capital punishment.
© Copyright (c) Reuters
http://www.canada.com/news/Tunisian+court+sentences+security+chiefs+over+killings/6777229/story.html
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