Ousted Tunisian president Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali and his wife Leila are probably living it up in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, due to a Saudi non-response to Tunisia's extradition request. But the interim government has decided to proceed with the trial in absentia, beginning June 20 (al-Jazeera Arabic; New York Times). Mr. and Mrs. Ben Ali face between 5 and 20 years in prison on preliminary charges related to "drugs, weapons and racketeering," although interim president al-Baji al-Sebsi indicated additional charges could be added later.
The trial in absentia leads to the inevitable debate over whether the trial means anything if Ben Ali can't actually be incarcerated at the end of it. It may be important just to to bring a sense of closure to the whole ordeal, and as an opportunity to sift through the detritus of the past 23 years and see what went wrong. After all, those who do not learn from the past are doomed to relive it.
About Me
- BJ
- I had plans for a super-awesome summer internship involving Middle East policy. Those plans went kaput, but I've decided to do what I'd be doing anyway, for personal edification and satisfaction. And fame, obviously.
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