Sat Jun 4, 2011 2:30AM
Ousted Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali
A Justice Ministry spokesman says Tunisia will try ousted President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and his wife Leila Trabelsi in absentia.
Kadhem Zine El Abidine said on Friday that a trial on two charges will be held "in the coming days or weeks," AFP reported.
"The investigating magistrates have completed their inquiries. They will be transferred to the criminal court in the coming days or weeks," he added.
He went on to say that the first charge relates to the discovery of weapons and drugs in the presidential palace at Carthage, while the second involves $27 million in cash discovered in Ben Ali's palace in the Tunis suburb of Sidi Bou Said in February.
A total of 88 inquiries are being conducted into the activities of the couple, their family, and the regime's former ministers and officials.
Local news agencies reported that Ben Ali's sister, Najet Ben Ali, who had been the subject of an arrest warrant, was detained on Thursday evening in the Sousse region, around 150 kilometers (90 miles) south of the capital Tunis.
Customs officials also seized two yachts belonging to Ben Ali's family earlier on Friday.
Ben Ali's regime collapsed on January 14 after weeks of bloody protests over corruption, unemployment, and high food prices. He fled to Saudi Arabia with his family on the same day.
An election has been called for July 24 to choose a national assembly that will rewrite the constitution.
Human rights groups say dozens of Tunisian protesters were killed in the government crackdown.
HSN/AGB/HGL
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