Tunisians Protest at Saudi Embassy: Extradite Fugitive Ben Ali!

Several thousands of Tunisians protested outside the Saudi Embassy on 15 April 2011, demanding the extradition of fugitive Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.


Cf. “Former President Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali of Tunisia, who fled the country after a popular uprising forced him out in January, is now facing 18 legal cases, Tunisia’s official news agency said Thursday. The charges include ‘conspiring against the state, voluntary manslaughter and drug use and trafficking,’ the news agency quoted Tunisia’s justice minister as saying in an interview that was broadcast on state television Wednesday night. The minister’s statements came only hours after Egypt’s prosecutors detained Egypt’s deposed president, Hosni Mubarak. But unlike Mr. Mubarak, who continues to live in Egypt after the uprising that led to his resignation, Mr. Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia before any legal action could be taken against him. . . . According to a United Nations report, 147 people died and more than 500 were injured because of the excessive use of force against protesters during the one-month revolt, which inspired a wave of uprisings across the Arab world” (Mona El-Naggar, “Former Tunisian Leader Faces Legal Charges,” New York Times, 14 April 2011).