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Demotix / sebastien rabany/Demotix/Press Association Images
Live BlogFormer Tunisian leader Ben Ali facing 18 charges
Ousted Tunisan leader facing over a dozen charges including voluntary manslaughter and drug trafficking.
TUNISIAN AUTHORITIES SAY they are bringing 18 charges against former president Ben Ali which include voluntary manslaughter, conspiracy, and the trafficking and use of drugs.
An international arrest warrant has already been issued for Ali and his wife, and some of the former leader’s allies were arrested shortly after he lost power.
Ali fled to Saudi Arabia after he was forced from power by a popular uprising in January. Al Jazeera reports that the Tunisian justice ministry are exploring ways to have him extradited back to Tunisia.
The AFP says that a delegation from the ministry is planning to travel to Interpol’s headquarters in France to accelerate the arrest process.
The unrest in Tunisia sparked similar anti-government and pro-reform protests in neighbouring Egypt as well as Middle Eastern states. Around 200 people died in Tunisia during a security forces crackdown on demonstrators.
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